The Kotomi Continuum
by Mark629
Summary: Events unfold for Tomoya and Kotomi as a couple, and for other Clannad characters as well. And of course, I do not own Clannad. More characters (so far): Kyou, [Ryou, Nagisa], Fuko, Tomoyo, Kobayashi Jun (Kotomi's guardian), Ushio. Includes supernatural/SciFi: Illusionary World. This story continues in The-Kotomi-Continuum-II
1. Chapter 1 - Kotomi's Birthday

**Sunday afternoon, May 11 – Ichinose House**

* * *

"Thank you for attending my birthday party. Please come in." Kotomi repeated the phrases for the hundredth time, it seemed. Unlike the party from years before that had never happened, there were many visitors to the Ichinose household this time. There were more people than Kotomi thought she would know in a lifetime.

There were many classmates that showed up. She was certain that some of them showed up because Kyou coerced them, but there were others that were in her class and seemed genuinely happy to see her. For a generally quiet girl that never attended classes until only recently, this was nothing short of amazing. At first it seemed that it would be overwhelming - there were so many people that she recognized but did not know their names. They all knew her name and would greet her with smiles and polite words and wishes, but there were so many of them. Just when she thought it might be best to go to the quiet refuge of her room, he was there. Tomoya's hand was on her back as he moved up to her side. Looking at him and seeing how calm he was with all these people around gave her strength. She emulated him and smiled at another new arrival.

"You're not going to be playing the violin tonight are you?" a boy said as he arrived. Kyou had anticipated that there might be some comments like this from some of the less tactful members of the student body. Kyou had already prepared Kotomi with the perfect response.

"I had not planned to, but I will make a special exception for you." Her left eyebrow went up marginally as she studied the boy's reaction. There was shock, and even fear on his face.

"No, that's quite all right," the boy stammered, "I'm good really..." She would liked to have watched his reaction a little longer but there were already four more people at the door. She noticed Rie Nishina at the end of the line and was glad to see a familiar face. But there were so many unfamiliar faces...

"Thank you for coming to Kotomi's birthday party," a familiar and reassuring voice warmed Kotomi. Tomoya spoke softly and yet his voice was steady and conveyed a confidence and strength. Again, she felt his left hand was on her back as he shook the hand of another new arrival and acknowledged their well wishes to her. Kotomi took comfort in the hand on her back. It was strong and yet touched her softly at the same time. She leaned into his hand and gained courage and strength from his presence… his touch. Smiling, she looked up at his face as another group of well-wishers arrived. Watching him in action, she was envious at the way he handled himself with people he didn't know, and thrilled that he was there to support her. Sometimes he gave a polite bow or a nod. Sometimes he shook hands, and other times a fist bump. Kotomi was in awe of his mastery of the myriad variations of the greeting ritual.

"Thank you for attending my birthday party, Nishina-san. Please come in." Rie blushed a little at the honorific from such a notable upperclassman.

"Th… thank you Ichinose-senpai," Rie gave a bow to her host and asked, "you know I am in the year behind you."

"Yes," Kotomi took Rie's hand and said, "but had it not been for you, I would not have discovered this wonderful violin that has become my birthday present. For that, I will always be grateful."

"Oh… yes… well..." Rie looked to Tomoya for help but the big jerk was obviously enjoying the amusement. "You're welcome. I hope you have many years of enjoyment with it." Tomoya was no longer smirking, as he pondered Rie's words.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi turned to face Tomoya as the last of this group of guests had entered the house, "there is something that I need to ask you."

"Yes, Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya answered as he dropped his hand to his side. Kotomi's turn to face him had moved his hand from her back to her hip. And, while she didn't seem to mind his hand there, it did feel terribly inappropriate to him.

"I have noticed that you give different greetings to different people."

"What do you mean?"

"Sometimes you use a formal greeting, and at other times you are informal. Sometimes you give a slight bow and other times a hand shake or even a fist bump." she explained.

"Yes?"

"How do you know?" she asked him.

"How do I know what?" he asked her back.

"Well, I give the same greeting to everyone and I am worried that I am doing it wrong." Kotomi looked down as she finished her sentence.

"No," Tomoya said firmly, "you're doing great!" He moved to put his hand on her head as he spoke but that didn't feel right either. He settled for putting his hand on her shoulder and giving her a gentle but firm squeeze as he told her, "You've really come a long way since I found you in the library. Don't forget that."

Looking up again, a glance at Tomoya's face told her everything was fine. More than fine, his smile suggested that he seemed proud of her. Along with the comforting presence of his hand on her, this gave her the courage to go on.

It was courage that she would need too. There were so many people there. Aside from acquaintances at school, Kotomi had also welcomed Furukawa Nagisa's parents and a few neighbors. Her house was full. The garden was full. She tried not to show it before the party started but she was concerned that she would not be able to do this from the beginning. She knew her own limitations and she was only recently able to stand being in a classroom with thirty other people that were not paying attention to her. Now there were significantly more people and she was the center of attention. There were several times that she would feel the urge to flee to the safety of solitude, but always Tomoya would be there to rescue her.

Well, to be fair, not just Tomoya. Aside from the classmates, there was an even more remarkable group there. These were her friends. Kotomi had only ever had one friend before. He was gone for a long time, but he was back now. And with his help, she also gained more friends in the last few months than she thought she would have in her lifetime.

"Ojisan," Tomoya said quietly as he looked past Kotomi toward the street. Kotomi turned from facing Tomoya to see who he was referring to. She gasped as she saw her guardian approaching the house.

"Oh..." Kotomi still felt the moment of fear whenever she saw him but she knew the truth now. She now knew he was not a bad man. He had only ever tried to help her but he had also been the man that came to her house to tell her that her parents had been killed in a plane crash so many years ago.

"I'm sorry," he said as he approached them with a brightly colored bag in his left hand. "I just wanted you to have this on your birthday. I can give it to you and leave if I still make you uncomfortable."

"No..." Kotomi was at a loss for words. So many years of fear and distrust of this man had only been exorcised just a day ago. Intellectually, she knew she had done him an injustice and that her fears were entirely unfounded, but her heart had not caught up yet. She couldn't speak. She couldn't find the words.

Then she felt Tomoya's hands on her shoulders and his body behind her. He was with her now. She could feel his presence, his strength, and his support enveloping her. She could find the words now.

"Please don't go." she said to him, "I have been wrong… wrong about you… for a long time."

"Kotomi-chan?" Youhei's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"Youhei-kun?" she responded.

"It's not a good idea to have the birthday girl all in tears at her own birthday party, is it?"

"He's right," Tomoya answered for her, "let's have a happy birthday party now and we can have a tearful reunion on another day." Looking at the guardian he asked, "Does that sound good to you?"

"That sounds wonderful," he said to Kotomi, "I look forward to it."

"Oh!" Kotomi seemed surprised about something, "I just realized that I never did proper introductions. Sunohara Youhei and Okazaki Tomoya, I would like you to meet my godfather, Kobayashi Jun."

"Kobayashi-sensei? Youhei asked Kotomi as Nagisa and Ryou also came out onto the porch. To Youhei, there was something about him that looked like a teacher.

"Kobayashi-hakase." Kotomi answered respectfully.

"Hakase?!" Ryou, Nagisa, Tomoya, and Youhei bowed to the gentleman.

"Please, that is a bit formal at a birthday party," he chuckled, "Please just Kobayashi-san will do. And, may I say that it is an honor to meet Kotomi's friends."

"Kotomi's friends." The words echoed in Kotomi's mind as they all went back into the house. The inside of the house suddenly erupted in laughter as Kyou finished telling a story… or a joke. But Kotomi's mind was on those two words. They were her friends too. Brash Youhei, bold Kyou, supportive Ryou, and caring Nagisa were all there. Part of her cried out the question, _How did this happen?_ But there in front of her was the answer. Tomoya was just a few yards away from her now. She watched as he introduced Kobayashi Jun to the Furukawa's, the Yoshino's, and a few other adults that had come to the party. For a moment it seemed that time had stopped as she watched him move so freely among all these people.

Then the sounds of the party came crashing back to her as she realized that he was no longer next to her. Kotomi started to tremble and couldn't seem to catch her breath. But it was only a moment of panic before she felt gentle hands holding her left hand.

"I'm right here." Ryou said quietly as she squeezed Kotomi's hand. Her voice and those words were so reassuring and calming.

"Thank you, Ryou-chan." Kotomi replied after remembering how to breathe again.

"Nagisa-chan will be right back with some drinks." Ryou assured her. Nagisa and Ryou must have made some kind of arrangement between them. If Tomoya wasn't with Kotomi, one of them was always at her side. Sometimes they were both with her – giving her their support… and love.

And that is what she felt throughout the day and into the evening. Surrounded by so much love, so much encouragement. She would need that courage if she was to do what her heart commanded her. At first, it was only a whisper, but her feelings could no longer be ignored even if she had wanted to. Kotomi didn't want to ignore her heart any more. She couldn't. It was no longer just the cry of her heart begging her to take action but the harmony of heart, mind, body, and soul that demanded she try.

Tomoya watched the crowd, but he watched over Kotomi even more. He smiled when he realized that Ryou and Nagisa had come to the same conclusion that he had. They knew that Kotomi would have trouble with so many people all at once, so they did their best to make sure she was surrounded by friends throughout the entire party. Several times he would be circulating through the crowd and glance over to Kotomi and see a cry for help. It was not always something he saw in Kotomi's expression but something he read from the faces of Ryou or Nagisa as they flanked her. Seconds later he would be at Kotomi's side with his hand on her shoulder or back to give her the support she needed to carry on. Within moments, he would feel the unease dissipate and the smile come back to her face.

He could see that Youhei and Kyou were helping too. They were being themselves and, as such, were taking some of the focus and attention off Kotomi. Not so much that they were stealing her birthday party, but enough that she wasn't overwhelmed with so many guests. He would have to thank them – all of them, for their help.

Kotomi's guardian was also watching. He watched the easy interaction between Kotomi and Tomoya. He had discreetly talked to people at the school about this boy that had impressed him so much and was surprised to discover that Tomoya was such a poor student. It wasn't until he tried to have a conversation with Tomoya's inebriated father that he began to understand the disconnect between the boys actions and his academic performance. Kobayashi Jun had the beginnings of a plan, but would have thrown it away had it not been for a conversation with one more person from the school.

Toshio Koumura had a vastly different opinion of Tomoya than anyone else at the school. Oh, he certainly agreed that the boys grades were poor, but it was his opinion of him as an individual that made the guardian rethink dismissing Tomoya so quickly.

Yusuke and Kouko Yoshino also had a very positive opinion of Tomoya. After only a few minutes of conversation, he decided that he liked them as well. They were a newlywed couple and it was obvious that they were both very much in love. Yusuke didn't talk much but there was something about him that he couldn't quite seem to remember; he had more in common with Kouko as an educator though. He could tell that she loved being a teacher but didn't pry when she said she had to give that up for the time being. Kouko had praised Tomoya and couldn't say enough about his diligence and caring nature. It seemed that their wedding would not have been possible had it not been for the efforts of Tomoya and Kouko's former student Nagisa.

At the party he met Nagisa's parents and discovered that Tomoya was also helping their daughter make friends and fulfill her dream of restarting the Drama Club. Helping the socially awkward make friends seemed to be something of a talent for this young man. It seemed strange that he would have this talent when he seemed to only have one friend prior to the beginning of this school year. Of course, there was the injury between the last year of Middle School and the first year of High School that had robbed him of his chance to be on the basketball team. But that was several years ago now. If he hadn't made any progress in two years, why suddenly now. Could he continue to progress? How much could he do in the small amount of time that remained?

"What do you think of his prospects after High School?" he asked the small group of adults that he had been chatting with.

"What do you mean?" a sharp voice responded from his right. Turning, he saw the long haired twin looking at him. She wasn't – quite – glaring at him, but an eyebrow was up and it was clear that she was waiting to evaluate his answer.

"Fujibayashi Kyou, isn't it? You were inside when Kotomi made the introductions earlier. I am Kotomi's guardian, Kobayashi Jun." he gave a slight bow to the teenager.

"Well Kobayashi-san..." Kyou was looking as if she was about to lecture a truant classmate when she was interrupted.

"Kobayashi-sensei." Kouko Yoshino smiled sweetly as she offered the title as a correction.

"Sensei?" Kyou seemed confused.

"Kobayashi-hakase." Ryou quietly corrected the correction.

"Hakase?!" Kyou and Kouko both gasped. First looking at Ryou then at Kobayashi Jun.

"Please," he smiled as he waved it off, "just Kobayashi-san at the party. Otherwise, I'll feel the need to find a podium and begin lecturing. And nobody wants that."

"Ah… well… I should go and..." Kyou was already beginning to turn back to the party when he spoke.

"Please, Fujibayashi Kyou," Jun again gave a slight bow to the teenager, "I would like to hear what you have to say on the matter."

"Okay well," the flustered Kyou bit her lip and tried to think of something to say, "Tomoya is… um… Tomoya is good."

"Oh?" Youhei piped up, "is that the best a Class Rep can do?"

"You shut up!" suddenly the fire was back in Kyou's eyes as she turned her venom on a safe target.

"Come on Kyou," Youhei persisted, "you've known him for two years. You can do better than that."

"Two years?" Jun asked, "I was under the impression that only Kotomi and Sunohara-san here had known Okazaki Tomoya before the beginning of this school year."

"Yes well," Kyou fidgeted, "he was in my class last year as well."

"So you were good friends last year, or did you just know him because of your duties as the Class Rep?"

"I knew him last year sort of... but," Kyou looked at her sister for support and Ryou just nodded for her to tell the truth, "we weren't really friends until this year though."

"So he was an average student last year?" Jun asked with his best poker face. He already knew the answer but it was more interesting to see the reaction on these newfound friends of his.

"No, not really." Kyou looked down, "He was a troublemaker and not really a good student at all."

"Kyou..." Ryou held her sister's hand as it looked like she was feeling pretty emotional.

"But what really made me mad. Mad at him. I knew that inside he was smart… and good. And if he would try just a little, he would shine."

Everyone involved in that conversation looked across the room at where Tomoya and Kotomi were talking with some of the other guests. Tomoya's eyes were on the guests and his right hand was free to gesture or hold a drink, but his left hand was on Kotomi's back as if it had been glued there.

"I could never get him to try," Kyou said as they watched him, "but Kotomi did."

"And look at him shine." Yoshino Yusuke spoke up.

"Yes…" Kyou looked at Tomoya wistfully as she repeated Yoshino's words to himself. _Look at him shine._

"Well," Youhei said matter-of-factly, "there's only one thing left for me to do then."

"Eh?" Kyou asked while still watching Tomoya.

"I'll have to let everyone know that Kyou is madly in love with Tomoya."

"WHAT?" Kyou shouted and Ryou gasped at the same time.

"Well it's obvious that..." Youhei never got to finish that sentence as a dictionary suddenly impacted his open mouth. His head snapped back and his body cartwheeled away from the shocked group of adults.

"I'll kill..." Kyou was screaming as she was about to leap after Youhei's tumbling body.

"Onee-chan, no!" Ryou cried out as she held on to Kyou's waist, "not inside Kotomi's house!" Pursuit seemed unnecessary anyway as the stumbling and tumbling Youhei had come down hard on the tile floor in front of the fireplace. Still enraged and blushing furiously, Kyou allowed her sister to navigate the two of them outside where she could cool down a bit.

This had been a fortuitous meeting for Kobayashi Jun. He knew that Fujibayashi Kyou had been Tomoya's Class Rep last year and that her twin was his Class Rep this year, and they were now all friends. He had planned to chat with Kyou and Ryou at the birthday party if he could, but had never intended for her to overhear his comment about Tomoya's future prospects. Her defense of Tomoya was vigorous and it made him wonder.

Watching closely he noticed Kotomi, Kyou, Nagisa, and even Timid Ryou would watch him when he walked by and would be attentive when he spoke. They were orbiting him like electrons around a nucleus and it was only a matter of time. He thought of ways to coerce Tomoya to choose Kotomi, but in the end, he knew it would be up to Kotomi and Tomoya. He was intelligent enough to know that any coercion on his part might meet resistance and could have potentially disastrous results.

Fair enough. But if the desired choice was made, he would do what he could, to make sure they had every reasonable chance of success.

.

 **Sunday evening, May 11 – Ichinose House**

* * *

People are leaving the house! The irrational fear screamed in Kotomi's mind as a group of classmates gathered to say their goodbyes to her. Intellectually, she knew it was an irrational fear. She had spent many hours researching this anxiety and she even understood where the fear came from. But it didn't help. Even if you understand an irrational fear, it can still be paralyzing. That's what makes it irrational. Kotomi understood that too. Again, it didn't help.

Ryou felt the tension in the way Kotomi was holding her hand. She looked at Kotomi's face and didn't see anything at first. It was the eyes that gave it away. They were wet like she was holding back tears. Ryou looked more closely and noticed a difference in Kotomi's pallor. It was as if the blood was draining out of her face. Already fairly pale, Kotomi was starting to look almost ghost like. As another set of classmates approached, Ryou almost winced from how hard Kotomi was squeezing her hand.

Fear. Ryou knew that it was fear that was causing this reaction but she couldn't identify the cause. She looked around to see if there was something that she had not noticed before, but was at a loss. Her eyes fell on Nagisa. Nagisa was never too far away and was already looking at Ryou as if something was troubling her.

 _What is it?_ Nagisa hadn't said the words but it was clear to Ryou what the troubled expression meant.

 _Kotomi is in trouble!_ Ryou wanted to say but couldn't utter the words in the midst of saying goodbye to the classmates that were taking their leave. Ryou wanted to go to Nagisa and tell her what was wrong but she knew she couldn't leave Kotomi like this. Ryou definitely couldn't leave her now. Kotomi seemed on the verge of panic.

"Ah!" Nagisa's expression changed to one of understanding. Ryou was a little surprised at how quickly she and Nagisa had begun to understand each other. The unspoken communication they now shared was something she had never experienced before. Not even her twin sister Kyou could read her as well as Nagisa could. It went both ways too. When Nagisa left the room, Ryou knew without doubt, that she was not being abandoned. Nagisa was going to get help.

Moments later, Nagisa reappeared with Tomoya. Both Tomoya and Nagisa carried two drinks with them. As they approached, Tomoya offered a drink to Kotomi and Nagisa handed one to Ryou. Kotomi's fear seemed to subside a bit. With a trembling hand, she was able to take the drink from Tomoya without spilling it. But just barely.

"Kotomi-chan, what's wrong?" Tomoya asked quietly.

"Tomoya-kun, People are leaving." Kotomi whispered.

"Yes?" Tomoya looked around. There were still many people here but some had left and he could see others gathering up their things in preparation to leave.

"They'll be gone..." Kotomi's eyes were filled with tears now and her voice was trembling if not broken.

"You'll see them again…" Tomoya started to say.

"Sometimes, when people leave this house… I never see them again!" the tears were running down her cheeks as she clutched at Tomoya's arm.

Ryou saw the trembling in her hand and took the drink from Kotomi only moments before Kotomi fell into Tomoya. Nagisa took Tomoya's drink as he wrapped his arms around Kotomi and held her tight. His hand moved to her head and he held her face to his chest where she could hide her tears from the room. Ryou thought about the words she had said.

"Oh no!" Ryou looked over to see Nagisa's parents approaching to say their goodbye. Parents. Saying goodbye. Not now!

"Oh!" Nagisa looked as if she had just been shocked with raw electricity and ran toward her parents. Ryou watched her dear friend as she met her parents at the border to the room and quickly explained the situation. Her father looked concerned but her mother smiled and had a confident look as she seemed to tell Nagisa not to worry.

Tomoya too was concerned. He knew what was troubling Kotomi and he felt guilty. It wasn't just her parents that never came back. He had been her friend; her only friend. And he hadn't come back for ten years. He had failed her when she needed someone most. He swore to himself that he would never do that to her again. Tomoya took responsibility for the foolish actions of his youth and vowed to do anything in his power to undo the damage that had been done. Just then, he looked up to see the Furukawa's approaching.

Tomoya felt his own panic at what he knew was about to happen. He looked into Nagisa's eyes trying to let her know that something was wrong, but he saw that she already knew. He wanted to say something, do something… to stop everyone and give Kotomi time. But it was Sanae Furukawa that would save her this time.

"Tomoya-kun, Kotomi-chan," Sanae's confident, sing-song voice cut through the panic and fear like a honed scalpel, "could you walk with us for a bit?"

"Walk..." Kotomi blinked as she raised her face from Tomoya's wet shirt and looked at Sanae.

"I know you still have many guests here, but this should only take a minute or two." Sanae said with her cheerful smile as if there was nothing at all wrong in the world.

Nagisa and Ryou stayed at the house as Tomoya and Kotomi left with Nagisa's parents. The four of them walked in silence for several minutes until they got to the intersection that would take the Furukawa's to their bakery and home. Sanae and Akio Furukawa stopped under the street light and turned to Tomoya and Kotomi.

"This street will take us home." Sanae said simply, "have you ever been to the Furukawa Bakery, Kotomi-chan?"

"Um… no." Kotomi seemed a little confused by this question.

"The bakery is part of our house," Sanae explained, "Akio and I live there with Nagisa-chan." Sanae took Kotomi's hands and held them as she said, "Tomoya-kun, Kyou-chan, and Ryou-chan have all visited us there and I want you to know that you are always welcome too."

"Oh," Kotomi's eyes were getting wet again but this time it wasn't due to panic or fear, "thank you… thank you very much." She was going to try to bow as she thanked her friend's mother, but Sanae pulled her in and hugged Kotomi.

"You too brat," Akio said to Tomoya, "don't be a stranger. Nagisa and Ryou wouldn't like that."

"I wouldn't like it either." Sanae quipped as she let go of Kotomi, "It's nice having a handsome young man around."

"Huh?" Furukawa Akio looked briefly shocked, "Sanae, what are you saying?"

"Happy birthday Kotomi-chan," Sanae said as she and Akio headed down the street, "we look forward to seeing you soon!"

"Sanae!" Akio called after his wife, "what are you saying? I'm still handsome! Sanae!"

"They are very funny," Kotomi said after a few moments of watching the elder Furukawa's making their way home.

"Yeah," Tomoya agreed, "they're really something." He worried that what he wanted to tell her might make her sad, but decided it was worth the chance. "When you're with them, they make you feel like family."

"Family..." Kotomi echoed the word as the Furukawa's walked out of sight.

"I'm pretty sure that's what Sanae-san was telling you."

Kotomi wiped the wetness from her eyes with her sleeve and looked at Tomoya.

"To them," Tomoya finished the thought, "you are family."

Kotomi had a smile on her face when she and Tomoya got back to the house. Before they got to the door, they encountered another group of students heading out. Kotomi was inclined to hang back until they had disappeared into the night but Tomoya led her up to them so she could properly thank them for coming to her party.

When they entered the house, it was mostly her friends that were left. Nagisa, Kyou, and Ryou were putting the leftover food away and tidying up the kitchen. Youhei was motionless on the floor again. This time at least he had avoided the hard tiled floor. Tomoya wondered what he had said to Kyou to get knocked out again. There was something different this time though. There was a girl sitting on the floor with Youhei and allowing him to rest his head on her lap as he lay there. She seemed familiar, but Tomoya didn't recognize her. She was cute and seemed to genuinely care for the blond idiot. Tomoya chuckled that Youhei was going to beat himself up for being unconscious while his head lay unknowingly in a girl's lap.

Kotomi and Tomoya joined the girls in cleaning up until the food was put away and the dishes were collected. He knew that they would stay and help with everything, but Kotomi needed to have her quiet house back. It had been a long day for her; a long day for someone who had lived alone and without friends for a decade. She liked having friends and she liked the changes, but she would need some time to get used to so much interaction.

"Come on onee-chan," Ryou said to her sister. Kyou was getting ready to tackle the sink full of dishes but Ryou was pulling her toward the door.

"But I was just..." Kyou stopped in mid sentence as she saw the look in Ryou's eyes. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty late."

"I want to thank you all for coming to my party," Kotomi said as they approached the garden gate, "and for being my friends. I never thought I would have friends… not real ones anyway."

"Oh Kotomi-chan..." Nagisa took Kotomi's hand.

"You are all so wonderful." Kotomi looked at each in turn, "I only hope that we will always be friends." At that, Nagisa hugged Kotomi, then Ryou hugged her from the other side and Kyou moved up behind Kotomi.

"And I want to thank you two," Tomoya said as he placed his hands on Nagisa and Ryou's heads. They turned to see what he was up to and he told them, "I know what you two did for Kotomi-chan in there and you were a real help."

"Hey," Kyou said indignantly, "what about me?"

"Yes Kyou," Tomoya smiled, "I don't think the party would have been the same without the Kyou and Youhei comedy team to keep things livened up."

"That's better! I'm not just some..." she stopped and her eyes opened wide as if she had just been terribly insulted, "WAITAMINUTE! Did you just put me in the same billing as Youhei?"

"She's not going to turn into a bully, is she?" Kotomi asked worriedly.

"No, Kotomi-chan," Ryou said as firmly as she could, "she is not."

"I only meant that as a comedy team," Tomoya smiled again, "you make a great couple."

"COUPLE!?" Kyou screamed.

"A team," Nagisa said quickly, "he meant a team… like a comedy team."

"Yes, that's what I meant to say," Tomoya continued, "As a comedy duo, his dummy to your physicality made a perfect marriage."

"DUO? … MARRIAGE?!" Nagisa and Ryou were now clinging to Kyou to keep her from attacking Tomoya.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi said with some concern, "are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No." Tomoya realized that this kind of antic wouldn't make Kotomi laugh and had a change of heart. "I was having a bit of fun at Fujibayashi Kyou's expense and that was wrong of me."

"What?" Kyou suddenly stopped struggling to get free of Nagisa and Ryou. In all the time she had know Tomoya, she couldn't remember him apologizing for one of his pranks.

"Fujibayashi Kyou," Tomoya bowed to her, "you have been a good friend today and have done much to be kind and helpful. Without you here, the party would not have been the same. It was wrong of me to tease you like that. Please accept my apology."

"Idiot," Kyou smiled, "Oh, stand up or I really will punch you like I did to Youhei." Kyou had a sad moment inside as she looked at Tomoya. She had really had a thing for him since their second year but there was no chance of that now. There were several times when she almost said something to him but he was always just a little too rough around the edges. She had been afraid to get involved with him then. Since the beginning of their third year, they really did become friends. Now she was afraid that if she told him what was in her heart, she would lose him as a friend. Who would believe that brash Kyou was so immobilized by fear.

"Speaking of Youhei, where is he?" Ryou asked.

"Last time I saw him, he was on the floor in the living room." Nagisa said.

"Oh yeah," Tomoya remembered, "he had his head in some girl's lap."

"What?" Kyou gasped.

"Nothing like that," Tomoya dismissed the concern, "he was still passed out. I think she was letting him sleep it off."

"Yes, onee-chan," Ryou admonished her older sister, "after that last hit, he might be so dazed that he walks off the side of a bridge when he leaves here."

"Don't worry about Youhei," Tomoya told them, "I'll make sure he is okay before he heads home."

With that, the girls said their good bye's and headed out the gate. Kyou and Ryou would be walking Nagisa home before they headed to their own house. When Tomoya and Kotomi got back in the house, they couldn't find Youhei or the mysterious girl anywhere. Apparently they had left unnoticed at some point, but Tomoya wasn't too concerned. Youhei was particularly hardy when it came to recovering from blunt trauma. He had suffered much more at the hands, or feet, of Tomoyo than Kyou had dished out this evening.

.

 **Sunday night, May 11 – Ichinose House**

* * *

It was fairly late. The only ones left at the Ichinose house were Kotomi and Tomoya. Through the open door and across the fence, Kobayashi Jun watched through the open porch door as the two finished straightening up. He watched Tomoya and his charge finish cleaning up the last of the debris. He could have come back inside and helped them, but right now they needed their privacy. They might have seen him when they took out the trash bags but they both looked too exhausted to be sufficiently observant. On the way back inside, Kotomi took Tomoya's hand. It looked as if Tomoya didn't notice it for several steps before he came to a stop just outside the garden door.

Wishing his hearing was better, he watched the age old ritual. Kotomi was speaking and Tomoya was listening. The porch light illuminated the shocked expression on his face as he heard Kotomi's words. Almost chuckling at the look on the boys face, Kobayashi wondered how naive the kid was. Not to anticipate this event stretched belief. Then he heard a few pieces of Tomoya's response. His voice was raised in shock but not in anger as the phrase, "not good enough" and the word "delinquent" could be heard. Kotomi didn't falter. Her response was inaudible but Tomoya's reaction could be easily seen. Again, there was shock – but only for a moment. Surprisingly, Tomoya seemed to be discussing something with Kotomi. The words were spoken softly and impossible to discern from this distance, but whatever was said made Kotomi pause, then smile. But she didn't appear to be done either. She took his other hand and a few words of her own to say. Now it was Tomoya's time to listen and consider. Apparently Kotomi's words were more sensitive to Tomoya than his had been to her. When he looked up at her and nodded yes, they came together in a hug.

Obviously, they had agreed to a relationship, but what had been discussed? Had they been bargaining with each other at such a vulnerable moment? Regardless, the deed was done and truth be told, Kobayashi was quite pleased. Not knowing what bargain might have been made bothered him, but he would know soon enough. Kobayashi turned and walked away. Kotomi has made her decision and Tomoya has made his. It was time for Kobayashi Jun to get to work.


	2. Chapter 2 - Thud

**Tuesday morning, May 13 - High School Gym**

* * *

It had been an insane day. Like the past several days, it started off with the oddity of Tomoya not just getting to school on time, but actually arriving early. He didn't know how Kotomi had arranged it, but the school nurse, a basketball coach, and two members of the rookie B-team were there waiting for him at the basketball court at that early hour. Of course, Kotomi was there too.

This was part of the pact that he had made with her. This condition of their pact had seemed important to Kotomi, but Tomoya had been shocked with how much effort Kotomi put into something that would probably never work. Then again, maybe it would. As promising and hopeful as that thought was, it would not have been enough to motivate him through the inconvenience and the pain. But there was more; there was Kotomi. He could see the happiness in her eyes when he tried his best. Even when she cared for him after practice, and at the end of the day as he struggled through the pain, she was still proud of his efforts.

Tomoya winced at the pain as he went through the exercises and moves that the coach and the nurse had agreed on. Tomoya had to acknowledge that he had let himself get out of shape over the last two years. Not all the pain had to do with his injured right shoulder. To be honest, he hurt everywhere. There were times when the voice inside was screaming that it was all pointless, that he should give up now and stop the pain. It would be so easy to listen to those voices again.

 _Just give up._

 _Again._

 _Kotomi!_ The voices of failure and defeat were meaningless when she was there. They were meaningless if he just thought of her. She wanted him to do this. She wanted him to try his best. And again, he vowed he would do nothing less than his best for her.

"Good work today Okazaki-senpai!" one of the rookies said as they walked away with the coach and the nurse back toward the school building.

"Thanks," Tomoya grunted as he took a seat on the stone bench next to the practice court.

"Tomoya-kun, you think that he is just being kind, but he is not." Kotomi sat next to him and began to open a bento box.

"Huh?" Tomoya did think the comment was a jab. He had not successfully put a single ball through the net this morning.

"You are concerned that you didn't make any baskets, aren't you?" she retrieved some chopsticks and selected an egg omelet for him.

Normally, Tomoya would have been too embarrassed to let her feed him like this, but reflexes slowed down when muscles woke up and he had been feeling fairly slow and clumsy recently. So, letting her feed him was better than dropping food or jabbing himself in the face with the chopsticks.

"Well, yeah..." Tomoya accepted the omelet, then groaned as he rubbed his chest next to his right shoulder, "that is kind of the point of basketball."

"I am aware." Kotomi replied as she selected another bite from the box, "but this is not just a basketball practice. It is also a form of physical therapy. And making a basket was not the goal."

"Oh?" Tomoya knew that Kotomi had been talking with the nurse and the coach as he went through his training regimen with the two rookie players, so it only made sense that she would know something of what they had in mind. He took another bite of the offered food and was again grateful that Kotomi was such a good cook. Thinking of the delicious food in his mouth helped him ignore some of the pain in the rest of his body.

"Indeed," Kotomi continued, "Since throwing the ball..."

"Shooting." Tomoya interrupted.

"Oh." Kotomi blinked as she registered the correction, then continued, "Since shooting the ball with your non-dominant hand is something you haven't really tried before, much hand-eye coordination work will have to be done before the action gets to the point of muscle memory."

"True enough," Tomoya thought to himself. Not for the last time did he wonder about the combination of simplicity and complexity in the solution Kotomi had come up with for the injured right arm. He remembered looking at her with stunned disbelief as she told him how she planned to get him back into basketball. 'If the right arm is hurt, use the left arm.' Finishing the last bite of breakfast he looked back at her and asked, "So what was the goal then?"

"Today's goal was to improve power and accuracy when you shoot the ball at the backboard." Kotomi smiled, "Your power and accuracy has improved substantially in the last three days."

"I didn't realize that," Tomoya reconsidered his feelings on today's practice.

"It is true," Kotomi told him, "in fact, your shooting of the ball on the first day was so poor that I thought you were doing one of your pranks."

"So brutal!" Tomoya flinched but could not deny the assessment.

"Here," she handed him the gym bag that had his school clothes, "Today your underwear is heavily starched, the way you like them."

"My under..." he almost dropped the bag, "WHAT?"

"Sunohara-san told me that was how you liked them?" Kotomi's expression of confused innocence told Tomoya everything. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing at all." Tomoya smiled, "Youhei often gets confused after eating his favorite food. I really don't like for my underwear to be starched." Silently, he started counting down seconds from 5.

"What is his favorite food?" Kotomi asked when Tomoya was at two.

"Rice omelet with ghost peppers cleverly hidden inside." Tomoya managed to say it with a straight face.

"Really?" she said with a bit of surprise.

"Oh yes," Tomoya stood with the gym bag and started for the showers, "he's so happy when he bites into one that he can be very loud."

"Interesting." Kotomi waited outside the gym building. It wouldn't take Tomoya long but he made sure to wait until he was safely in the showers before he burst into laughter.

After getting cleaned up and dressed in his familiar school uniform, Tomoya walked Kotomi to her room and went on to his. He wasn't one of the first ones in the classroom, but he wasn't the last either. Even after three days of this, he was still getting a lot of stares from other students in the room that still found it hard to believe that he wasn't tardy. Ryou was already there and moved to meet him at his desk as he came in.

"Are you okay?" she looked concerned as she watched him slowly ease into his chair.

"Yeah," he winced, "practice was a little tough today, but I'm getting used to it."

"Maybe you're pushing too hard?" Ryou suggested.

"No," he smiled to her, "I've just been too lazy for too long."

"Oh, well…" Ryou was still concerned, "will you be coming to the Drama room for lunch today?"

"No," Tomoya said apologetically, "Kotomi and I have another study session. Why?"

"Oh nothing," Ryou seemed flustered, "never mind."

"Ryou," Tomoya grabbed her wrist as she started to walk away, "what is it?"

"Well," Ryou looked very uncomfortable trying to say whatever it was when she was suddenly interrupted.

"TOMOYA!" Kyou's voice filled the room. Everyone knew what would come next. A dictionary would come flying at Tomoya's head. He would duck the impact. Kyou would march across the room and seize him by his collar or tie and demand that he not pick on her little sister. Unfortunately, Tomoya was physically exhausted. His reflexes would not save him today.

There was a sickening thud as the dictionary impacted his face and broke his nose. His head snapped back from the impact and blood fanned out across the room as his body was whipped backwards and he collapsed to the floor. Ryou screamed at watching the horror from no more than a meter away and getting sprayed by the blood from Tomoya's injury. Fortunately for Ryou, the grip on her wrist was gone as Tomoya was knocked unconscious.

"Oh no… what have I done?" Kyou's purposeful march into the room came to a sudden halt as the carnage unfolded in front of her. There was blood on the floor, on Tomoya's desk, on the wall on the other side of his desk, and on Ryou. Speckles of Tomoya's blood were on Ryou's clothes and on her face as well. The other students in the room were in shock at what they had just witnessed. It seemed as if someone had frozen time and no one could move.

"Onee-chan!" Ryou shouted as she suddenly found the courage to act. She was already in motion toward Tomoya's fallen body as she shouted, "Go get the nurse!" She didn't stop or even look at her sister as she moved around the desk. She was focused on Tomoya's body. Having always had the dream of becoming a nurse, she had taken an interest in medical and first-aid subjects for years. Coming around the desk, she evaluated the position of his body. He lay on his side, but his head was facing up and there was blood pooled around his nose and still running to the floor. She had seen the sickening impact and how his head was snapped back and with the unnatural twist of his head to his body, there was a chance that his neck was broken – or severely injured. But the blood pooled around his nose was far more dangerous. Without help, he could drown in his own blood.

Kyou fled the room in the direction of the nurses office. Some students came out of their stupor and reacted to what they had just seen. Some threw up their breakfast. One passed out and hit a desk on the way to the floor. A few other students found the courage to move toward Ryou and offer help.

"Go to class 3A and get Kotomi Ichinose." she told one of them. "I think I heard someone else fall, make sure they are okay." she told another. "Get the cleaning supplies," she told the rest, "I need a towel for Tomoya's blood and start cleaning everything else up." To herself she added, "hopefully before the teachers get here."

Ryou cradled Tomoya's head in her lap. She couldn't hear him breathing and decided to move quickly. She carefully turned Tomoya's head and cleared the pool of blood. She hadn't noticed, but that act had caused the blood to run down his face to her skirt, thighs and white stockings. Suddenly, Tomoya coughed and another spray of blood spattered Ryou's lap. She was overjoyed though; he was breathing now. She looked up to see a frightened Kotomi, and a dozen other students watching her.

.

 **Tuesday morning, May 13 - High School** **Administration Building**

* * *

Kyou was a wreck. She was able to get the nurse to hurry off to Ryou's classroom, then she collapsed in tears.

"Why am I always like this?"

"Why do I always react so violently?"

"What's wrong with me?"

"I hurt my friends."

"I hurt everyone."

"I just want to die." She kept trying to wipe the tears from her eyes but they were coming too fast.

"Come with me," a hand appeared in her view but the voice was unknown to her. She looked up to see one of the counselors looking at her with concern.

"Where..." Kyou started to ask as she took the hand and got back on her feet.

"I am Toshio Koumura, and we are going to my office," he said more quietly, "before the wrong people get here and start demanding answers and discipline."

"Yes sensei," Kyou resignedly followed Koumura to his office where he closed the door and offered her a seat.

"Would you like some tea?" Koumura offered, "It would be from a thermos. I don't have a proper tea set in here."

"No," Kyou sobbed, "no thank you." She was curious why he was offering her anything.

"I don't often get honor students in my office so I'm not sure how we should start."

"Heh," despite her mental state, his comment did get a small laugh from her, "I suppose you want to know what happened?"

"Not just yet," Koumura paused, "make sure you've pulled yourself together first."

"Thank you for your kindness," she sobbed again, "I don't deserve it."

"That will be for me to decide." Koumura's words could easily have sounded threatening, but were delivered as if they were the kindest thing Kyou had ever heard. "Wait here a moment, I will be right back." With that, Koumura rose and left the room.

Kyou watched the clock in the silence of the room. A silence broken only by the sound of her own breathing and the occasional sob. An eternity of five minutes ticked by before Koumura finally returned. She stood as he entered the room.

"Well," he smiled at her, "you didn't kill anyone today."

"Oh thank..." her legs gave out and she collapsed back onto the couch.

"Tell me," Koumura asked, "do you hate Tomoya Okazaki?"

"What?" she looked up at him and stammered out, "No! I don't hate him at all. In fact, I like him!" She gasped and clapped her hands firmly over her mouth.

"I see." Koumura studied the tear streaked and currently mortified face, "but you think he is capable of doing great harm to your sister?"

"No!" she looked down, "he would never hurt her."

"No," Koumura calmly agreed, "I don't think he would either." Just then, there was a knock at the door and Koumura went to open it enough to receive a note. After reading the note he faced Kyou again, "Think about that for a few minutes while I step out. I will return shortly."

Again, Kyou was alone in the room with only her tortured soul for company.

"Why did I say that?"

"Why couldn't I have said that before… to Tomoya?"

"Why did I have to react like that… hurt him like that?

"What's wrong with me?" Again the tears flowed. Her sleeves were wet as if she had reached into a bucket of water. The soaked material was no longer absorbing the tears streaming from her eyes. She looked up when she heard the door opening and saw Koumura return.

"Tomoya is awake. I have talked with him and with several students from Ryou's classroom." he let that sink in a moment then remembered he was dealing with a fragile honor student and not the usual hardened bully this time. "I discussed the options that I am about to give you with Tomoya and your sister."

"Y...yes?"

"I told them that I am going to offer you a choice of two punishments. You can choose to be suspended for two weeks. Of course your academic standing will fall. You will no longer be class rep, and an entry will be made in your record that you are prone to violence."

"Ah! I… I see." Kyou gasped but knew that she deserved worse. The violence entry alone would forever dash her dream of ever becoming a grade school teacher.

"The other option is that I will have your sister come in here and you will be forced to look at her while the nurse describes to you in excruciating detail, what could have happened to Tomoya." He saw the confusion on her face and realized that he had not seen her sister since she had run for the nurse. "Your sister performed first aid admirably, but as a result she is now covered from head to toe in spots and pools of Tomoya's blood."

"Oh no..." she cried, "I never… I didn't want to..." She finally pulled herself together and asked, "You discussed this with Tomoya?"

"Yes."

"I will take whichever punishment he decided for me."

"Hmmm..." Koumura smiled, "Interesting… and admirable."

"Which did he choose?" Kyou tried to steel herself for the answer but could not stop the trembling.

"He insisted that the entire thing was his fault."

"What?"

"He said he attacked you and it was entirely his fault."

"That idiot!" Kyou cried, "Why would he say that? He'll lose everything!"

"He probably feels that he has nothing to lose..." Koumura started to explain but Kyou was so upset, she interrupted the counselor.

"Of course he does!" her fists were clenched, "He was finally getting his act together! He just can't throw it away now. Not for someone like me. Not for… me."

"What do you mean by that?" Koumura's curiosity was peaked, "How is he getting his act together?"

"Oh!" Kyou worried for a moment that she had said too much, but she didn't see how good news like this could be a bad thing. She told him, "He is coming to class on time. He's getting tutoring from Kotomi Ichinose. He is interested in a club activity, and he is doing some kind of basketball therapy."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Well, the club thing was since the beginning of the year. Everything else has only been since the start of this week."

"Amazing," this time it was Koumura to suddenly sit down, "and what of Sunohara?"

"Sunohara?" Kyou blinked.

"Yes," Koumura stated, "Youhei Sunohara. I believe he and Okazaki have been inseparable since their first year here?"

"Yes," Kyou was a little disoriented at the conversation turning to Youhei in the middle of her discipline discussion, "I know Youhei. He has taken an interest in the same club activity but hasn't started coming to school on time or improving his studies."

"Hmmm." Koumura thought about this turn of events carefully, "I assume that you support Tomoya's efforts?"

"Yes sensei!" Kyou said enthusiastically.

"And what of Sunohara?" Koumura wondered aloud.

"Sensei?" with the trauma of what she had just done to Tomoya, the conversation switching between Tomoya and Youhei was adding to Kyou's confusion.

"They have always been there for each other," Koumura said, "without Okazaki, Sunohara may be lost…"

"I..." she didn't really care, at first. Her first thought was that Sunohara was an annoying little pest and Tomoya would be better off if he was out of the picture. But that was cruel. And short sighted. Tomoya would blame himself and it would eventually destroy him. "I see."

"If Sunohara were to start trying," Koumura asked her, "would you support him too?"

"Yes sensei," she said thoughtfully, but somewhat less enthusiastically, "yes I would."

"And if he needed a little prod to get him to start trying, you could do that…" Koumura looked like he was coming up with a plan – more than he was thinking about her discipline. Looking at her directly, he added, "You could do it without killing him?"

"Yes sensei," an embarrassed Kyou answered.

"Then I shall give you a third option." Koumura had never intended on making Kyou take either of the two options he had presented. He had just wanted her to seriously consider her actions. But an opportunity had presented itself and he was not above taking this advantage.

"Yes sensei?"

"Your third option is that Sunohara Youhei's success becomes your responsibility." Looking at the stunned look on her face, he added, "You can enlist the help of whoever you like and the value of the success is subjective. If all he does is stay in school until graduation, I would consider that a success too."

"Thank you sensei," Kyou bowed. It was a distasteful option but it was better than anything she had expected… or deserved, "I will do my best to make the rest of Youhei's high school performance a success."

"And now," Koumura looked at the wall clock, "the Furukawa's should just about be here to collect you and your sister."

"The Furukawa's?" she wondered, "Wait… my sister?"

"Fujibayashi Ryou told me that both your parents would be at work and unavailable to come get you. She called the Furukawa's and they have agreed to come and pick you up." Koumura explained, "And I wasn't exaggerating about all the blood. You owe your sister a new uniform."

"Yes sensei." Kyou felt miserable. Besides the damage to her uniform, how badly had she traumatized her own sister. The sister she was trying to protect. How many people had she hurt in that singular moment of violence. She could feel Koumura's hand on her shoulder as she quietly cried out her anguish in his office.

.

 **Tuesday morning, May 13 - High School** **Nurses Office**

* * *

Koumura entered the ward after he had seen the Furukawa's off with the Fujibayashi twins. Tomoya was laying on a cot. His face looked a wreck. There were things sticking out of his nostrils, a bandage over his nose, and both his eyes were darkening. He looked like he had been beaten up by a prize fighter. He was talking though, and there was a girl beside him holding his hand.

"Would you be Kotomi Ichinose?" Koumura asked of the purple haired young lady.

"Yes," she asked him, "have you decided what to do with Kyou-chan?"

"I have," Koumura then asked Kotomi, "but please tell me, what is your opinion of Kyou Fujibayashi?"

"I am conflicted on that issue at the moment," Kotomi stated.

"How so?" Koumura asked.

"I want her to be my friend. But I don't like bullies and she has behaved like a bully."

"Kotobi!" Tomoya turned to her, "You dote bead that!"

"It's okay," Koumura told them, "just promise me you will both talk it out with her. She has been in my office all this time and I can tell you that she is extremely remorseful of what she has done."

"We will," Tomoya said, "I probiss. But sedsei, cad you tell be which pudishbet you gave her?"

"Neither of the two that we discussed," he regarded the young man for a moment before he told him, "She selected a form of penance that is far more difficult, but not nearly as damaging to her high school career, or to her future."

.

 **Tuesday** **afternoon** **, May 13 –** **Ichinose House**

* * *

Tomoya lay in the bed in the guest room at Kotomi's house. He had wanted to go home but she had insisted that he would need help since he was supposed to keep ice packs on his face as much as possible. He knew it would be difficult for him to care for himself at home. The ice maker at home didn't work at all and his father would be no help – if he was even there. So he accepted Kotomi's offer.

She quietly came into the room with fresh ice packs. As she removed the half melted pack, she looked into his eyes and saw that he was awake this time. As much as she wanted to keep looking into his kind eyes, she knew he needed to heal and covered them back up with the new ice pack.

"So, you are awake this time." she said happily, "how are you feeling now?"

"I feel like I hab a broked dose." Tomoya chuckled. Then regretted it.

"I suppose it is a good sign when the symptoms match the condition." Kotomi was thrilled when she saw the smile on Tomoya's lips. He was getting used to her kind of humor.

"Actually, I'b feebing buch better," Tomoya lied, "Id fact, I thik I'll be able to go hobe after this ice pack is dode."

"Why do you insult me?" Kotomi asked him. The tone of her voice was conversational but the words themselves stung Tomoya as if he had been slapped.

"What?" He reached for the ice pack to look at her but she intercepted his hand and held it.

"Tomoya-kun, are you my boyfriend?"

"Yes..."

"And if I were injured or ill, would you take care of me?"

"Yes, but..."

"But you would deny me the honor of caring for you when you are injured?" Kotomi's eyebrow rose slightly as she watched for Tomoya's response.

Checkmate. The logic was sound. The conclusion: inevitable.

"Please accept by apology, Kotobi-chad!" Tomoya squeezed her soft hand, "I did dot wat to be a burded. I did dot realize I was beidg a jerk. I habe never beed a boyfried before. Please be patient with be."

He could feel her move and suddenly felt her soft lips kiss him on the forehead. His blush was hidden by the bandages and ice packs, but it was there as he heard her say, "Always."


	3. Chapter 3 - Ryou's passion

**Tuesday morning, May 13 - Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

Sanae Furukawa had a moment of panic when the school had called her. Nagisa was a good student and a good girl in general, so there was really only one reason the school would call her. Nagisa's inexplicable health issues had not plagued her for most of her primary and middle school years, but they had come back to haunt her since she started high school. Fortunately, that was not the case this time. Her relief was short lived though. The counselor passed the phone to Ryou to explain, and to ask a favor.

"Ryou-chan," Sanae asked, "what's wrong?"

"Furukawa-sama, there's been an accident at school involving Kyou-chan and Okazaki-san." Ryou explained quickly to remove any fears that Nagisa was involved, "and Okazaki-san was hurt pretty bad."

"Oh my," Sanae was relieved that her daughter was okay but concerned that Nagisa's new friends were in trouble, "what can I do?"

"The school wants to send us home but our parents won't be available until this evening."

"If it's okay with your parents, you are welcome to stay here." Sanae offered.

"Thank you very much," Ryou told her, "but you will have to come get us. The school wants to hand Kyou-chan over to an adult. The accident..." Ryou choked back a sob at the still too fresh memory of Tomoya taking the subsonic dictionary to the face, "The accident was Kyou-chan's fault."

.

 **Tuesday morning, May 13 –** **High School Administration Building**

* * *

When Sanae Furukawa arrived, she was met by Toshio Koumura. He explained only as much as he was allowed to under the circumstances, but encouraged Sanae to talk to the twins and help them, if she could. When the twins appeared, Kyou looked as if she had been crying all morning and was about to start again. Ryou also looked despondent, but strangely, was dressed in her gym clothes and was carrying her gym bag which appeared to be stuffed with her school uniform.

"Ryou-chan," Sanae inquired, "why are you wearing your..." She stopped when she saw Ryou raise a finger to her lips.

Ryou then moved so that she was blocking the view from her older sister and opened the gym bag to show Sanae the blood covered jacket inside the bag. Sanae understood. She didn't have the full picture, but she had enough.

The walk home was in silence. Sanae walked between the twins but she could tell that there was no anger between them. In fact, Ryou seemed much more concerned about Kyou than for anything that had happened to herself. That concern seemed warranted. Kyou was keeping up with them but she wasn't there. Her shoulders drooped, her eyes unfocused at the ground, it was as if the lively teenager had died inside and only her animated body was left. Sanae had seen this before and knew it could end very poorly for Kyou. Looking back over at Ryou, their eyes met.

Sanae could see the urgency and the fear in Ryou's eyes. It would seem that Ryou had already come to the same conclusion that she had just arrived at. Sanae was impressed with Ryou. Although timid, the girl had a wisdom beyond her years. She gave Ryou her best 'everything will be okay' smile to encourage her. When they got to the bakery, Sanae stopped them before they went in.

"Ryou-chan," Sanae used her cheerful sing-song voice, "Have you already washed up?"

"Yes," she answered, "I showered at the gym when I changed clothes."

"Very well," Sanae asked her, "do you think you could help Akio-san in the bakery while I have a chat with Kyou-chan?"

"Yes!" Ryou knew that Sanae was going to try and help her sister. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she looked at Sanae in a new light. She could see where Nagisa got her warmth and kindness. Ryou had already thought that Sanae could easily pass for Nagisa's older sister and now she knew that they were alike in spirit as well. At that moment, she was ready to throw her arms around Sanae just as she had been ready to throw her arms around Nagisa that day on the roof top…

Sanae saw Ryou suddenly blush and wondered what memory the girl had just conjured up, but now was not the time for idle talk and teasing. She turned Ryou towards the door and gave her shoulders a little push, then she turned to the elder twin.

Kyou was in her own world and it was a colorless place. She hated this place. There was a monster here. She wished the monster could be destroyed. Nobody liked the monster. She hated the monster. The monster was vicious. The monster was spiteful. The monster was Kyou.

"Kyou-chan?" a sweet voice interrupted her day-mare with the images of flowers and a few spots of color.

"Kyou-chan?" she heard it again and realized she was in a strange place. She was in a park and looking at the front of a bakery. Someone was holding her right hand. She looked to her right and saw Sanae Furukawa sitting on a park bench next to where she was standing. Looking between them, she saw Sanae's delicate fingers gently holding her accursed hand. The hand that had thrown the dictionary… She started to dwell on that again.

"Kyou-chan?" Sanae's voice brought her back again. Looking at Sanae she saw the ever present smile and eyes that looked back at her not with accusation or scorn, but with caring and concern.

"Y… yes?" Kyou spoke so softly, she thought for a moment that she hadn't really said anything at all.

"Here," Sanae pulled on her hand, "sit next to me for a bit."

"Okay," Kyou obediently sat on the bench. She ended up sitting quite close as Sanae pulled her in as she sat.

"You've had a pretty rough day, and it's not even lunch yet."

"Yeah." Kyou agreed.

"I imagine you've already had a pretty long conversation at the school."

"Yeah." Kyou trembled as she remembered the options that Toshio Koumura had given her and how horrified she had been at the prospect of listening to the nurse describe what might have happened.

"You will probably have another long conversation after you get home tonight."

"Yeah." Her mother would cry. Her father would be furious. She didn't look forward to it but she knew she deserved every bit of it.

"So, let's keep our conversation short and just focus on what is really important, okay?"

"Yes." Kyou steeled herself to hear the worst. That this kind woman would be disappointed or angry with her was bringing back the tears that she thought she had already cried out.

"Do you think Tomoya-kun will forgive you?" Sanae asked.

"No." Her hands squeezed to fists as she thought, _How can he? How can anyone forgive me? I am a monster! And… monsters are unforgivable._

"Are you sure?" Sanae asked the despondent girl, "We've only known him since the beginning of this school year, of course. But I thought his character was better than that."

"What?" Kyou was shocked by the comment on Tomoya's character. "No, there's nothing wrong with Tomoya!"

"I heard that he was strongly opposed to you getting any kind of disciplinary action." Sanae said.

"He… He tried to take the blame for the whole thing." Kyou said softly, "Baka."

"Hmm… It sounds to me like he's already forgiven you." Sanae said confidently. "Of course, you'll still have to apologize. But it will be a lot easier knowing he has already forgiven you, right?"

"Um, I guess so." Kyou acknowledged the sentiment but she didn't really want it to be easier.

"The hard part will be your own forgiveness." Sanae said softly. Kyou looked up from her lap into Sanae's eyes and she knew she was right. "At some point, you are going to have to forgive yourself."

Across the street from the park, Akio Furukawa watched through the big window at the front of the bakery. He saw the girl with the long lavender hair fall against his wife on the park bench. Sanae wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl and pulled her in tight against her chest. Shoulders heaved and her whole body trembled as the girl cried away her misery.

"You're good Sanae," Akio smiled, "that little girl is going to make it."

.

 **Tuesday afternoon, May 13 - Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

The sun was in its afternoon position when Nagisa walked in the bakery entrance and took in a scene that was both familiar and unfamiliar. Akio was making the face of someone that had just put something horrible in his mouth and he was holding the remains of a hard, flat, oblong, cookie looking thing in his hand. But it wasn't Sanae holding the tray full of similar oblong cookie things, it was Ryou.

"I thought you were supposed to be a really good cook?" Akio grunted as his teeth bore down on the petrified pastry.

"That's my sister Kyou-chan," Ryou looked defeated, "she… helps me a lot whenever I try to cook."

"This..." Akio swallowed painfully, "might actually be worse than Sanae's bread. And her bread could close us down if a health inspector ever tried it."

"Dad!" Nagisa called out too late, "Mom is right behind you."

"What!?" Akio spun to see his daughter in the bakery entrance and spun again to see Sanae on the verge of tears.

"I see how it is," Sanae ran for the door, "my baking is a health hazard!"

"Sanae wait," Akio called out as he grabbed two of Sanae's latest pastry attempts and crammed them into his mouth. As he ran out the door after her he cried out, "Ahh woove uuuuuu!"

Nagisa walked over to Ryou and looked at the baking pan. Ryou looked more concerned than dejected now.

"Aren't you worried about your mom and dad?" Ryou blinked as she noticed Nagisa looking at her failed baking attempt.

"No. That happens all the time." Nagisa looked up at Ryou and offered, "The cookies don't look too bad to me."

"They're supposed to be croissants." Ryou looked back at the tray as she set it down on the work counter, "Onee-chan is the one with all the talent."

"Not all the talent." Nagisa said with a smile, "I heard that Okazaki-san would have died if it hadn't been for you."

"What?" Ryou was shocked, "No! I didn't do that much."

"Yes you did," Nagisa took Ryou by the hands, "they are calling you a hero."

"Who is?" Ryou gasped with alarm.

"Probably the whole school by now."

"What?" the blush was rising in her face and her eyes were open like saucers as she tried to take in this news. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I don't do pranks." Nagisa said as she smiled at her friend. The comment made them both think of Tomoya and Youhei and the prank the boys had pulled on them on the roof top. Now both the girls were blushing. Nagisa was about to let go and take an awkward step back when she felt Ryou squeeze her hands harder.

"I… I hope Okazaki-san will be okay." Ryou choked out as the tears started falling, "Oh Nagisa-chan, I was so scared!"

"It's okay," Nagisa pulled the purple haired girl in and hugged her. She hugged Ryou the way Sanae had hugged Nagisa when she had been unhappy. Although Nagisa was several centimeters shorter than her friend, Ryou looked like a little girl crying on the shoulder of a big sister at that moment. "It's all okay now."

This was the scene that greeted Sanae and Akio as they came back from their chase. Standing in the doorway of the bakery, they watched with pride as their daughter comforted her dear friend. Nagisa looked up and saw her parents in the doorway. She returned their smiles and, moments later, Ryou stood back up from the hug but still held Nagisa's hands.

"Thank you Nagisa-chan," she looked into Nagisa's kind eyes, "I feel much better now."

"Oh Nagisa," Sanae said as she walked into the bakery, "Ryou-chan will be spending the night with us tonight."

"Really?" Nagisa said happily.

"If it's not too much trouble," Ryou added apologetically.

"No trouble at all. You're welcome here any time." Akio added, "Besides, you two look as close as sisters already."

"They sure do." Sanae agreed, "Why don't you two take a bath together while I start getting dinner ready?"

"Mom!" Nagisa blushed.

"It's okay," Ryou explained, "Kyou and I take baths together all the time." Suddenly remembering that troublesome rooftop incident again, Ryou blushed and added, "Unless you don't want to."

"I'd like to." Nagisa admitted, "I never had a brother or sister. I'd like to do a sister thing." Nagisa looked around, "Speaking of sisters, where is Kyou-chan?"

"Her mother picked her up about an hour ago," Sanae explained, "Ryou is staying with us tonight so her parents can focus on Kyou-chan."

"I hope she won't be in too much trouble." Nagisa worried. Ryou's expression mirrored Nagisa's words.

"Her mother and I had a nice chat," Sanae comforted the girls, "I think Kyou-chan will be okay."

.

 **Tuesday evening, May 13 - Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

Nagisa and Ryou relaxed in the over-sized tile bath. The hot water felt so good to Ryou. She realized she had been pretty tense all day, but it had been a pretty tense day. She soaked a wash cloth in the hot water then laid it down over her eyes.

"So," Nagisa asked, "What do you do when you take a bath with Kyou?"

"We relax and talk about stuff." Ryou answered without moving the cloth or opening her eyes.

"Oh," Nagisa fidgeted for a moment and finally asked, "Do you ever wash each other's hair?"

"Sometimes," Ryou pulled the wash cloth off her face and said, "sometimes we wash each others backs too."

"Really?" Nagisa sounded excited.

"Yes," Ryou asked, "would you like to do that with me?"

"Yes!" Nagisa said with such enthusiasm, it made Ryou laugh.

"Since it's your first time," Ryou proposed, "I'll wash you first so you know what to do."

"Okay," Nagisa asked, "what do you want me to do?"

"Turn around and I'll wash your hair." Ryou instructed, "After I rinse it, I'll put the conditioner in and let it set while I wash your back."

"Um," Nagisa admitted, "I don't think we have hair conditioner."

"Really?" Ryou ran her hand through Nagisa's short auburn hair and felt the supple strands in her fingers. "Well, I guess your hair doesn't need it. You have great hair, Nagisa-chan."

"What about your hair?" Nagisa was concerned for her friend.

"I'll be okay tonight." Ryou smiled and reached for the shower handle.

Ryou knew there was a conversation going on. She remembered talking but for the life of her, she could not remember anything that was said. She was lost in other thoughts. Her hands massaged the shampoo into Nagisa's thick auburn hair. Her finger tips touched the older but smaller girl on the ears and neck as she worked in the shampoo. And all the while, she kept coming back to the events on the roof top. Tomoya and Youhei had tricked her into believing that Nagisa was confessing her love to Ryou, when she was really only asking about reforming the Drama Club. Ryou had been shocked at first, but Nagisa was so very cute and Ryou saw passion and a pure love of life in the girl that had taken her breath away. She came to realize that she had said yes to the question she had expected to hear. She had said yes to the question she wanted to hear. She had already said yes, and yet the question remained unasked.

Ryou rinsed off the shampoo and started washing Nagisa's back. Her fair skin was every bit as delicate and smooth as her hair had been fine and supple. Ryou panicked a little as a part of her wanted to confess to Nagisa, right there in the bath. She could feel a deep blush coming on as she ran her hands over Nagisa's lovely back. She was glad Nagisa was facing away from her at the moment. Such a blush would be hard to explain.

All too soon, it seemed – it was time for her to be washed at Nagisa's hands. She turned around and sat still for Nagisa. The blush was coming back as she felt Nagisa's gentle hands running through her hair and massaging her scalp. For several days now, Nagisa was the first person she thought of when she woke in the morning and the last person she pictured when she went to sleep. Ryou longed to be near Nagisa to see her smile and to hear her laugh. Nagisa's natural cheerfulness was magical to Ryou.

Tomoya's choice of Kotomi had been a catalyst for Ryou. For a while, she had entertained thoughts of Tomoya herself, and it had been troubling to her to see Tomoya and Nagisa getting closer. Ryou didn't like to think of herself as the jealous type, but seeing Tomoya and Nagisa together had triggered the green monster insider her. But it was so confusing! Her heart was chaotic and her feelings were painful. She tried to understand her heart, and the best she could do was come to two dreadful possibilities. She was either jealous of Nagisa for being with Tomoya, or she was jealous of Tomoya for being with Nagisa. Either way, she would lose if they chose each other. But they didn't. In the end, Tomoya would choose Kotomi – his long lost childhood friend. When that happened, she thought she would feel the bitterness of loss and defeat. And as cold as those feelings would have been, they would have at least been an end to her inner turmoil. Instead she felt relieved.

She saw Nagisa in a new light. She felt that she had a chance, and she would not waste it. But a chance for what? Ryou wondered if Nagisa would ever see her as more than a friend. Or could she? Was it even in Nagisa's nature to see another girl that way. Ryou had not believed that of herself until the rooftop.

The rooftop. It would forever be a pivotal moment in her life. She would remember that moment forever. Even if by accident, something had come to life inside her that she had not known to be possible. Nagisa had made that happen. True, she had inspired Ryou's heart innocently, but that was a quality that Ryou admired about Nagisa as well. In that moment, Nagisa had become an object of Ryou's affection. It started as a smoldering ember of longing and passion and she was able to hide it well. Even her sister didn't know. But now it was a fire that burned so very brightly. Hiding those feelings was becoming ever more difficult.

And now they were in the bath together. Nagisa kneeling behind her. Nagisa's delicate fingers working the shampoo into Ryou's lavender hair. Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths wasn't helping. She could still feel the heat in her face as those wonderful fingers ran through her hair and caressed her neck and the sides of her face.

"Ryou-chan?" Nagisa sounded surprised and a little concerned.

"What?" Ryou wondered how many times Nagisa had called her name before she responded. She knew she was a little out of it.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes." Ryou answered quickly if not entirely truthfully, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you were making these little sounds and it looks like you're blushing."

"How...how would you know if I'm blushing?"

"Um, well… the wall in front of us is mirror tile and I can see your face."

"What?" Ryou's eyes sprang open and saw the reflexion of Nagisa behind her and looking right into her eyes, "Ah!" Ryou panicked. What should I say? Should I confess even now?

"Do you have shampoo in your eyes?" Nagisa asked.

"Yes!" Ryou seized the excuse, "Shampoo in my eyes… that's it!"

"Here," Nagisa handed Ryou the shower handle and made sure it was running a gentle spray of warm water.

"Thank you Nagisa-chan," Ryou said as she let the gentle spray wash against her face. Nagisa was so sweet. So nice. So wonderful. Ryou wondered if she would ever have the nerve to tell her… to confess to her… the feelings in her heart.

.

 **Tuesday night, May 13 - Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

Ryou woke with a start. It was still dark and she was breathing in short pants as if she was scared. A nightmare perhaps? Whatever it was, she could remember nothing of it. Looking around the dark room, she knew she was in a strange place. Disoriented, she realized this was not her room. There was further confusion as she realized her head rested on someones shoulder and there was a hand on her head.

Moving slowly, she raised her head and saw the silhouette of Nagisa's face in the darkness. She was sleeping and looked peaceful… and beautiful. Ryou often woke up snuggled with Kyou but this was different. Nagisa's arm was around Ryou. Nagisa's hand rested on her head as if she were holding Ryou to her. Only centimeters away, it was no difficulty at all to give Nagisa a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Forgive me Nagisa-chan," Ryou whispered to her sleeping friend, "but I think I love you." For a few minutes, she gazed at Nagisa's angelic face, then she put her head back on Nagisa's shoulder and drifted off to her own peaceful slumber.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Threat

**Wednesday noon, May 14 - Drama Club room**

* * *

There was an interesting mood in the Drama Club room at lunch. Tomoya's eyes were still sporting a black and blue hue and his nose was still swollen. Kotomi, ever at his side, was okay until the Fujibayashi twins came in the room. She tried to be brave, but the vision of Tomoya's bloody face was still too fresh in her memory and she couldn't help but hide behind Tomoya when she saw Kyou. Nagisa seemed cheerful and was glad to see Ryou come in the room. A dejected and weary Kyou followed Ryou. Unusually quiet, eyes downcast, arms crossed protectively in front of her, she looked anything but the bully now. And finally, Youhei came into the room.

"What ah you doig hea?" Tomoya said to Youhei.

"I came..." looking down at the floor, Kyou answered the question she thought was directed to her, "I came to apologize to you. To everyone. Then I'll leave if you don't want me around."

"Kyou!" Tomoya barked her name out.

"Yes?" Kyou's head popped up and she cringed as if she were about to be slapped. Then her eyes started to water as she looked at the black and blue eyes and swollen nose that disfigured Tomoya's handsome face. Such grievous damage the she had committed on him.

"I was taakig to Youhei." Tomoya let that sink in a moment then said more softly, "Baka. Dobody hea wahts you to leave."

"Aww, you're no fun," Youhei complained, "I came to watch you make Kyou crawl."

"I thought you debesis was Toboyo?" Tomoya asked, "Why do you have it id foa Kyou dow?"

"Apparently, Kyou has taken an interest in my future." Youhei grumbled, "She actually woke me up this morning to get to school on time and insisted on going over my homework!"

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi asked from behind Tomoya, "are you dating Sunohara-san now?"

"WHAT?!" both Youhei and Kyou cried out.

"EEP!" Kotomi dived out of view behind Tomoya.

"I just want him to make a better effort so he doesn't drag Tomoya down." Kyou said through gritted teeth.

"Excuse me?" Youhei said to Kyou in anger.

"I get it," Nagisa said, "since Okazaki and Sunohara-san are such good friends, you are worried that Sunohara-san's laziness will be a problem for Okazaki."

"What?" Youhei looked at Nagisa in surprise.

"So," Kotomi ventured, "the solution is to make Sunohara-san become a better student as well."

"What?" Youhei looked at Kotomi in alarm at her summary.

"Or kill hib." Tomoya added to Kotomi's solution list.

"WHAT?!" Youhei shrieked as he looked at Tomoya in shock.

"That is no longer an option." Kyou was looking at the floor again. Suddenly the mood in the room was somber again and even Youhei was too uncomfortable to make a witty remark.

"Well," after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Tomoya said, "let's have it thed."

For a moment, no one said anything until Kyou looked up from the floor to see who Tomoya was talking to now. Fear gripped her when she saw that everyone was looking at her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. Anything but stay here and face the contempt of the people that used to be her friends. But this was part of her penance. She had promised Koumura-sensei and she knew it was the right thing to do.

"Okazaki Tomoya!" Kyou threw herself into a deep bow, "Please forgive..." She tried to get the words out but the fear gripped her and the tears came. What if he didn't forgive her? What if he would hate her forever now? "Please forgive..." What if no-one would forgive her?

Kotomi's hand was on Tomoya's shoulder as she stood behind him. Kotomi felt the fear leave her as she watched Kyou try to get the apology out. She could see the strength and bravado of the usually abrasive girl crumbling before her. Kotomi didn't want Kyou to be a bully, but she didn't want this. Kyou was falling apart in front of them. Looking around the room she could see concern on everyone else's face too. They all knew what was happening and they felt helpless as well. Kotomi looked up to Tomoya and saw that he was looking back at her. As he was looking at her, he started to blink.

 _Kotomi's mind raced as she tried to think of the correct response but anything she could do had a poor probability of success._

 _Expand the criteria._

 _Group dynamic as a solution?_

 _Which actor could lead the group response. Obviously, that would be Tomoya. He was the one that Kyou's attempted apology is aimed at and he is the de-facto leader anyway._

Tomoya's eyes were closed in the middle of the blink now.

 _What action should he take?_

 _Possible responses crossed her mind but the issue was that this is a live interaction and she doesn't have any way to brief him._

 _Non-verbal response? Non-optimal but it would be the only solution that could work in the moment._

 _Kotomi made up her mind._

Tomoya's eyes were open now as he finished the blink.

Without saying a word, Kotomi wrapped her arms around Tomoya in a brief hug, then she pointed to Kyou and gave him a gentle push toward the still bowing and crying girl.

Tomoya wasn't sure what just happened. It was all so fast, his mind was still processing Kotomi's actions as he found himself only a few centimeters from Kyou. He could see her back and shoulders trembling and he knew that under that bow, under all that long lavender hair, Kyou was crying. He knew what Kotomi expected of him now. Tomoya didn't know how much solace Kyou would take from a guy like him, but he would try. He was already reaching for her shoulders and paused as he worried that this might just make her angry with him. 'So what,' he thought to himself, 'an angry Kyou is better than the Kyou I see now.'

Everyone in the room breathed a collective sigh as Tomoya pulled Kyou up onto her toes and embraced her. Kyou was stunned. Her eyes opened wide for a moment as she felt his strong arms around her. The fear was gone. The remorse still lingered.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." She cried into his shoulder.

"It's okay, Kyou." he comforted her, "It's goig to be okay."

"You should hate me. You should all hate me. I'm a monster." Kyou sobbed.

"I dote hate you." Tomoya put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her face into his chest. He looked over her head at the others in the room and nodded.

"I don't hate you Kyou-chan," Nagisa was the first to react, "I'm really glad that you would have me as a friend."

"I appreciate your friendship as well, Kyou-chan." Kotomi added, as Tomoya released Kyou from the embrace.

"Do you really think that I could ever hate you?" Ryou asked her sister.

"No," Kyou choked back a sob, "but I was afraid that you might..."

"Never, Onee-chan!" Ryou said resolutely, "Never."

"Hey, even I don't hate you," Youhei chirped, "but I am a pretty forgiving guy!"

"Really?" Kyou felt good enough to barb with Youhei now, "Even though I woke you up early this morning?"

"Oh, well that's a whole different matter." Youhei said, "I can easily forgive you for breaking Tomoya's face, but waking me up early is pretty unforgivable."

"That's good to know." Kyou said with a lopsided smile as she wiped away a few straggling tears with her sleeve.

"Why is that?" Youhei asked.

"I've made it my mission to wake your sorry ass up every morning until you graduate."

"What?" Youhei screeched, "But I just said that was unforgivable!"  
"Yes you did," Kyou's spirit appeared to be coming back, "but I can live with that."

Everyone except Ryou laughed as Youhei cried out in mock agony. Ryou was watching her sister and she was troubled. Kyou's smile was too forced, her eyes too haunted. Something was still wrong with Kyou.

Ryou continued to watch her sister as the desks were moved into position for everyone to eat lunch. Only Youhei was missing as he had to run off to buy something to eat. Kotomi had made a lunch for Tomoya and both Nagisa and Kyou had made a lunch for Ryou. They realized after Youhei had already left that they had enough lunches for everyone.

"Oh," Nagisa started to get up, "I might be able to catch him..."

"Dote botheh," Tomoya waved her off, "he likes bwed." Tomoya finished a bite from the box that Kotomi had brought for him and said to Nagisa, "Id fact, I tode hib that he should try sobe of youh motheh's bwed."

"You didn't!" Nagisa was shocked.

"What's wrong?" Kotomi asked as Tomoya snickered, "Doesn't your mother run a bakery?"

"She does, but..." Nagisa blushed from the embarrassment.

"Her bread is… unique." Ryou offered.

"GAK!" Kyou choked on a swallow of food.

"What's wrong?" Nagisa asked Kyou as Ryou was now looking embarrassed.

"Um… it's a kind of inside joke in our family." Kyou tried to explain without hurting her sister's feelings.

"So, unique means..." Kotomi was trying to figure out.

"Awful." Tomoya said.

"Bad." Nagisa said.

"Inedible." Ryou said.

"It's..." Kyou offered weekly to Ryou, "It's not inedible."

"It even made Botan sick." Ryou admitted.

"Yeah..." Kyou took another bite of her food and tried to forget the memory of the last time she tried something Ryou had made.

"Nagisa-chan," Kotomi asked as Youhei came back into the room with his bread, "How are things going with reforming the Drama Club?"

"Um, not so good." she looked saddened, "I tried to arrange an advisor, but they are all taken. Koumura-sensei said I should talk to Nishina Rie of the Choir Club about it. She seemed willing to try and find a way, but this morning..."

"What?" several voices all asked.

"Well," Nagisa looked very uncomfortable talking about this. She felt Ryou's hand on her arm for support and she felt encouraged. "I got this note..." she held it up and Youhei snatched it out of her hand and unfolded the paper to read it.

"Let's see here," he said aloud around a mouthful of bread, "WHAT!"

"What does it say?" Kyou demanded.

"Give up on making the theater club or you'll be in pain." Youhei read aloud.

"A thweatediig dote?" Tomoya was stunned that someone would send something like that to Furukawa.

"Poor sentence structure." Kotomi chimed in. Ryou looked at her in amazement.

"It was in my desk when I came back from PE." Nagisa explained, "Who could have..."  
"If you're in a fight over an advisor with the Choir Club, then it has to be one of them." Youhei interjected.

"There's no proof so we can't say that." Nagisa looked around the room at the shocked faces, "They wouldn't do such a thing. They're trying to sing together. So they would never do such a thing."

"I don't know..." Kyou was having a hard time keeping a lid on her anger.

"Nishina-san was so kind to Kotomi-chan, as well." Nagisa now sounded as if she were trying to convince herself.

"Can you be so sure?" Youhei stood to leave.

"Wheah ah you goig?" Tomoya also stood and faced his departing friend.

"I'll look into this my way. I think I can report the result by the time school ends, so look forward to it." Youhei said as he rushed out the door.

"Hey wait!" Tomoya moved to stop Youhei but someone had grabbed his sleeve.

"Let him go." Kyou's anger was palpable, "I want to know what he uncovers."

"Do you think... it's something Nishina-san and her friends did?" Nagisa asked. It was clear from the tone of her voice that she was hoping for reassurance, but no-one could offer any.

"We bay dever dow," Tomoya said after a few minutes of silence, "I doubt that idiot will discovah adythig usefuh."

"He acts an idiot," Kyou said quietly as she remembered several conversations where Sunohara had shocked her with his accurate observations, "but, be is more perceptive than he lets on."

"That bay be the nicest thig adyode has evah said about hib." Tomoya commented.

"Ryou-chan," Kotomi quietly asked the younger Fujibayashi, "are you sure Kyou-chan and Youhei-kun are not dating?"

"I heard that." Kyou said with a flat voice.

"Eep!" Kotomi moved behind Tomoya again, but Kyou did not move from her position, watching the open door where Youhei had left the room.

Everyone now worried about what Youhei would find.

.

 **Wednesday afternoon, May 14 - behind the gym**

* * *

It had been every bit as disastrous as they had feared. Since Tomoya and Kotomi were camped in the Resource Room for their after school study session, it was Nagisa, Kyou, and Ryou that went to meet Youhei to hear his findings. Youhei had done well to uncover the real culprit and it was one of the choir members after all. Although Nishina Rie was not involved, her friend Sugisaka had made the threat on her behalf. She had given Nagisa a story about how Rie could never play the violin again because of an injury and the Choir Club was her chance to still perform musically. The explanation saddened Nagisa and reminded her of Tomoya's basketball dream ending injury.

The story infuriated Youhei but it was nothing compared to the anger from both Youhei and Kyou when Nagisa accepted Sugisaka's request and said she would no longer fight to get Koumura-sensei as their advisor. Youhei had stormed off after Nagisa had acquiesced, but not before Kyou grabbed the threatening note from him.

"Nagisa," Kyou said through gritted teeth, "you don't have to give in. As of tomorrow morning there won't even be a Choir Club!"

"What? Why?" Nagisa turned to see her friend livid with rage.

"Ah!" Sugisaka gasped when she saw Fujibayashi Kyou. She knew who the girl with the long lavender hair was, and she was scared to death. If all the rumors were true, just earlier this week Kyou had almost killed someone for picking on her twin sister. And now Sugisaka believed it. Kyou's face was dark and her eyes almost seemed to glow red from the rage that welled up inside her like a volcano. She tried to look away from Kyou's eyes but started trembling when she realized that she couldn't. Like a prey animal that has looked too deeply into the eyes of the predator, she just couldn't look away.

"This little idiot just confessed that this note was her doing in front of two class reps." she held the note up so all could see. "All I have to do is take this to the student council. If they don't take any action, I'll turn this in and get her expelled. Then the Choir Club will be dissolved because there won't be enough members."

"No!" Sugisaka realized too late what she had done. She had given the keys to the Choir Clubs undoing to one of the most dangerous people on the campus.

"No Onee-chan!" Ryou cried out to her sister, "you can't do that!"

"I can, and I will!" Kyou turned on her sister, "You should be the last one to try and stop me. Do you remember your duty as a class rep? This is exactly the sort of thing that we are supposed to report."

"Please don't do that Kyou-chan!" Nagisa begged. She was horrified at the actions Kyou was threatening. "You would destroy her. She was just trying to help her friend."

"But," Kyou saw the horror in Nagisa's face and knew she had caused it, "But Nagisa… I'm just trying to help you."

"Onee-chan," Ryou approached her sister, "the cost is too high. Nagisa-chan would only ever remember this as a painful memory."

"You two are too soft!" Kyou was about to say more, but remembered Nagisa's recent words and Koumura-sensei's lesson. The Choir Club would be dissolved and Sugisaka would be destroyed. She had the power to do that. Could she live with that? Maybe not, but she couldn't come up with another option like Koumura had. But maybe she didn't have to… As she unclenched her fists and took a deep breath, a feral smile crossed her face and she folded up the note and put it in her pocket. All the while, staring down the red eyed Sugisaka.

"Onee-chan?" Ryou called out to her sister as Kyou walked past her and then past Nagisa.

Sugisaka stood immobilized in fear. The urge to run away grew as each step Kyou took brought her closer to Sugisaka. Kyou no longer gave off a demonic aura but she still looked angry enough to fight a bear… and win.

"Listen carefully, kohai!" Kyou growled as she took the scared girl by the coat collar, "I'm holding on to this note, but I'm not going to do anything with it. Do you know why?"

"Um… no." Sugisaka answered weakly.

"No, what?" Kyou barked.

"No, senpai!" Sugisaka fearfully replied with closed eyes.

"Because you are going to find a solution to all this, aren't you?" the question sounded more like a command.

"Yes, senpai!" Sugisaka's answer sounded strong, but her legs were trembling. She wanted so bad to get away from this terrifying girl.

"That's good." Kyou lost some of the anger but still sounded harsh as she continued, "You see, Nagisa-chan is my friend. And I will be very angry if she has to give up on her dream. You understand what that's like, don't you?"

"Yes, senpai." Sugisaka had to acknowledge that, as much as she hated standing here and being terrified, none of this would have happened if she had not chosen this way to protect her friend. The friend that had told her that she wanted to think about the Drama Club's request.

"Good," Kyou let go of the girl's collar and took a step back, "now go and tell Nishina-san what you have done."

"Ah!" Sugisaka gasped.

"And beg her forgiveness." Kyou ordered, "Do it quick, before she hears about it from someone else."

"But..." Sugisaka didn't want to tell her friend what she had done, but Kyou's last words were an effective warning. Sugisaka took a step back herself and bowed, "Yes, senpai."

Ryou and Nagisa watched the terrified second year stand back up, turn, and run from behind the gym where the meeting had been. They had considered interfering when they thought Kyou was going to assault the girl, but kept back when they heard Kyou say that she wouldn't use the note against Sugisaka. Then they watched Kyou turn to face them and suddenly fall to her hands and knees.

"Onee-chan!" Ryou let go of Nagisa and rushed to her fallen sister.

"Kyou-chan!" Nagisa also rushed forward, but stopped when she saw Kyou's hand wave her off.

"It's okay, I think." Kyou said quietly, "My legs just gave out."

"Adrenalin?" Ryou asked.

"Yeah," Kyou was still shaking but continued, "but it's okay. At least I'm in the right position for this."

"Eh?" Ryou and Nagisa were both surprised by that comment.

"Furukawa-san," Kyou bowed her head. The fiery anger was gone now and Kyou sounded sad as she asked Nagisa, "Please forgive me but I just couldn't watch you let go of your dream like that… I just couldn't do it."

"Onee-chan." Ryou put her hand on her sister's back and felt the tremors that followed the adrenal surge that Kyou had been riding through the whole encounter with Sugisaka.

"Kyou-chan," Nagisa said, "Thank you."

"What?" Kyou raised her head.

"You can be pretty scary," Nagisa smiled and offered her hand to the still kneeling Kyou, "Tomoya warned me about that. But right in the middle of being all scary, you made me so happy when you told her that I was your friend."

"Tomoya warned you about me huh?" Kyou said with a cheerless laugh. A week ago she would have been thinking of how she would get even with Tomoya for that comment, but now… "Yeah, I guess I deserved that."

"Onee-chan..." Ryou knew her sister was hurting. She felt better when Kyou looked up and made ready to get back on her feet.

"Thank you very much, Nagisa-chan," Kyou accepted her hand and Ryou's help as well. Back on her feet, she thought about Nagisa's words. _So, I'm the scary friend?_ It was a bittersweet title, but she accepted it.

.

 **Wednesday afternoon, May 14 - Resource Room**

* * *

Youhei had found Tomoya and Kotomi packing up to leave the Resource Room where they had been studying, and started ranting. He had immediately started ranting about Nagisa's decision and his anger was making Kotomi nervous.

"Hey," Tomoya yelled to interrupt Youhei's rant, "calb dowd!"

"Why should I be calm?" Youhei looked at Tomoya incredulously, "Why should you be calm? Isn't this what you were supposed to be helping Nagisa with?"

"You ah scawing Kotobi." Tomoya said evenly.

"Oh!" Youhei looked like he had not noticed Kotomi until just that moment, "I'm sorry Kotomi-chan. I guess I was pretty worked up."

"Is that Sunohara-san?" a girl's voice called from the back of the Resource Room.

"Eh?" Youhei looked in the direction of the voice and wondered who else was in the room.

"Yes," Tomoya answered, "I did't dow you two had bet."

"We met at Ichinose-san's birthday party," Yukine Miyazawa came out from behind the book shelves with her book bag and the key in her hand. It was obvious that she was ready to lock up the room for the day.

Kotomi and Tomoya quietly left the room while Youhei chatted with Yukine.

"We did? You're pretty cute. I should have remembered you." Youhei looked a bit puzzled and was clearly trying to remember her as they walked out of the room.

"You were a little out of it," Yukine explained as she locked the door. Then turning back to Sunohara, she said, "I'm Miyazawa Yukine. I took care of you after Fujibayashi Kyou had knocked you out the last time."

"Yeah," Youhei smiled at the pretty girl and rubbed his head as if it might help jog a memory, "I guess I was pretty much out of it. I remember someone helping me but not much else. I hope I wasn't too much trouble."

"Not at all," Yukine smiled as she locked the Resource Room door. "I would like to chat with you some more, but I'm afraid I have another commitment for this evening. If you would like to stop by and chat, you can often find me in this Resource Room."

"Yeah," going to a Resource Room was not Youhei's idea of a good time, but she was cute, "I just might do that. Thanks, Miyazawa-san."

"Good night, Sunohara-san." Yukine smiled and took the exit door from the building.

Looking around, Youhei realized that he was alone in the hallway. Kotomi and Tomoya had got away while he was talking with Yukine. With a sigh, he put his hands in his pockets and headed for the dormitory.

.

 **Thursday morning, May 15 - High School Gym**

* * *

"I can't believe you guys!" Youhei yelled when he saw Tomoya coming from the gym the next morning.

"Not agaid," Tomoya looked in the direction of Youhei and saw Kyou right behind him. That seemed odd until he remembered Kyou saying that she would make it a personal mission to make sure Youhei got to school on time.

"It would be sibpler if you just killed hib." Tomoya said to Kyou.

"Oh no," Kyou looked as mad as Youhei sounded, "I agree with Youhei this time."

"What?" Tomoya was genuinely surprised that there was something that those two could agree on. He wanted to hear this but as angry as Youhei and Kyou looked, he knew it would be too much for Kotomi. "Kotobi-chan," he held up a hand to the other two as he calmly told his girlfriend, "Why dote you go od to your class. I will beet you id the Draba Club roob for luch."

"Yes, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi smiled as she went up on her toes and kissed the surprised Tomoya on the cheek. Tomoya, Youhei, and Kyou all watched her walk off with different expressions of amazement.

"She doesn't embarrass easily, does she?" Kyou asked.

"It's kiid of weird," Tomoya answered, "sobe thidgs dod't ebbarrass her at all and thed she gets all shy add ebbarrassed at thidgs that I cad't figure out."

"Yeah," Sunohara remembered why he was there and what he was upset about just then, "Hey, you ditched me last night! We need to talk about Nagisa. She's giving up on the Drama Club!"

"I kdow," Tomoya tried to deflate Youhei, "you told be that last dight before you got distracted by Biyazawa-sad."

"Then why aren't you doing anything..." Kyou stopped in mid-sentence and turned to Youhei, "Who is Miyazawa-san?"

"Now you're getting distracted!" Youhei shot back at Kyou.

"Listed," Tomoya tried to be calm, "It doesd't batter if we're distracted right dow. There is dothing we cad do udtil ludch whed we all sit dowd add discuss this."

"Yeah, I guess." Youhei conceded after a minute and started stalking off toward the Resource Room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kyou grabbed the back of Youhei's jacket and stopped him in his tracks.

"Um," Youhei fidgeted, "I think I'll hang out in the Resource Room."

"Oh no you don't," Kyou growled, "after all the trouble I went to. You're here on time and you're going to be in your seat and awake when they call roll!" With that, she gave him a shove in the direction of the classrooms and watched him sheepishly head to class. Then she turned to Tomoya.

"I kdow, I kdow!" Tomoya raised his hands in acquiescence, "I'll be od tibe too."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that." Kyou said with a little blush, "You've been doing great Tomoya. Really… great."

"Oh, uh... thadks." Tomoya replied uncomfortably.

"I just wanted to say that your face is looking better today," she half smiled, "and again how sorry I am."

Hey, I'b goidg to be okay," Tomoya reassured her, "Too bad I dod't heal as fast as Youhei. It will take be sobe tibe, but I'll get there."

"Yeah." Kyou answered automatically.

They walked to the classrooms the rest of the way in silence. Kyou was feeling the guilt and grief welling up inside her again.

Tomoya knew something was wrong but he couldn't think of the right thing to say. She was hurting inside and she would need her friends to get back to being herself. He just didn't want to say the wrong thing and make Kyou feel worse, but Tomoya knew he had to say something though. As they got to his classroom door, he stopped Kyou.

"Hey," he looked into her eyes to let her know he wasn't joking around, "probise be you'll be id the Draba Club roob for ludch."

"Why?" she asked with a little suspicion in her voice. Even though he looked serious, she had known him long enough to wonder what he might be up to.

"Because," Tomoya wanted to say something impressive and meaningful… but nothing like that came to mind. Instead he fell back on the truth, "if we're goidg to save the Draba Club for Dagisa, we are goidg to deed you."

"I already gave my name..." she was cut off.

"Do," he said firmly, "dot just your nabe. We deed you. Probise be you'll be there."

"Yes," Kyou's eyes opened wide as she looked wistfully at the admirable man that Tomoya was turning into. Even with the raccoon bruises across his eyes and his still swollen nose, she was drawn to him. She understood what he meant to her, and it hurt. He had been a classmate, an acquaintance, and a friend. Now, he was one of her best friends - but her heart was telling her every day that soon, that would not be enough. Oh, the incredible unfairness that she should love him more, after he and Kotomi had begun a relationship! "Yes," she said again, "I will be there."

Tomoya watched her walk toward her classroom and worried about her. _At least she promised to join us for lunch._ He thought to himself, _M_ _aybe the others can help her where I couldn't._

.

 **Thursday morning, May 15 - Resource Room**

* * *

Youhei was too worked up to stay in class. As he promised Kyou, he was there for the attendance roll, but he left after the first break and headed for the Resource Room. The Resource Room was in the first floor of the building as the Drama Club, so this would be convenient for lunch as well. Youhei figured he could talk with Yukine a bit and maybe take a nap before lunch. When he got to the room, he heard Yukine in conversation toward the back of the room near the windows. As he cleared the last bookcase, he saw Yukine talking to a short girl that seemed strangely familiar. Both the girls noticed him standing there. Yukine looked pleased to see him but the short girl had a startling reaction.

"Ah! The weird guy!"

"Fuko?" Youhei felt dizzy and was having a hard time standing, "You can't be here. You're in the…" The room went dark for Youhei as his body went limp and he slumped to the floor. He heard a voice and felt that his head was on something soft and familiar. He opened his eyes and had an excellent view of Yukine's neck and jaw. This looked unreal so he reached out to the vision to try and make sense of it.

"Oh," Yukine looked down at Youhei when his hand touched the side of her face, "you're awake. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he was still confused, "where am I?"

"You're in my lap?" Yukine answered pleasantly.

"What?" he sat up suddenly and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Careful," Yukine warned him, "you may feel a little dizzy."

"Why?" Youhei looked around and asked, "What happened to me?"

"You passed out." A voice to his left said.

"Fuko?" Youhei asked as he saw the girl sitting next to him for the first time. "But?" Youhei passed out again but this time he was in no danger of hurting himself. Yukine saw his eyes roll up and guided his slumping body back into her lap. It was better than the time she took care of him at the birthday party. This time he hadn't been kicked or brained by a dictionary so there was just the expected dizziness to deal with.

"Fu-chan," Yukine told the girl looking at the weird guy lying in Yukine's lap, "next time Sunohara-san wakes up, let me talk to him for a bit before you say anything."

"Eh?" Fuko looked up at her friend.

"It is difficult for him but I think I can help."

"But why should you bother with him, Yu-chan?" Fuko stated, "He is a weird person."

"No, Fu-chan," Yukine looked down at the blond haired boy and smiled, "Underneath his silly antics, Sunohara-san is someone that cares. He is very loyal to his friends."

"Hey, thanks." Youhei had heard Yukine's last comment and appreciated it, but wondered how she knew him so well. He was going to try to get up again, but Yukine put her hand on his head.

"Just stay there for a minute and relax." She told him.

"But my head is in your lap…" Youhei offered.

"I don't mind." Yukine told him, "Unless you find it uncomfortable?"

"Oh no, it's very nice…" Youhei blushed, "I mean… you're very nice!"

"It's okay, Sunohara-san," she comforted him. Then she placed her hand on his forehead and smiled as she asked him, "Sunohara-san, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Youhei was intrigued by this friendly girl but he wished he could remember when he had met her before.

"Sunohara-san, do you know what an ikiryo is?"

"You mean the superstition of the evil-eye spirit?"

"Not that one," Yukine explained, "there is another definition of ikiryo that has to do with the projected soul of someone who is very sick or asleep."

"Like a ghost?" Youhei asked.

"Except an ikiryo represents someone who is still alive. They would appear as if they were alive and well and could interact with you as if they were really there."

"I didn't know that one," Youhei admitted, "but what would this ikiryo be up to? Are they out for revenge?"

"Not revenge." Yukine said softly, "Sometimes it is because there is something they desperately want to do for someone. There may be an unfulfilled promise they feel they must fulfill."

"Oh," Youhei found this interesting but wondered what it had to do with anything, "so they aren't up to anything evil so I guess they're okay then."

"Yes, that's right." Yukine was happy that Youhei had come to that conclusion. It would make the next step easier. "So tell me, do you know who Fuko Ibuki is?"

"Fuko?" Youhei recalled the name, "Yeah… she was the little sister of the teacher that got married here at the school, right? Isn't she in a hospital somewhere?"

"Yes," Yukine told him, "she was involved in an accident on her first day of school here and has been in a coma ever since."

"Oh yeah," the memory dawned on Youhei, "I think I heard that once."

"Have you heard the story of the ghost of the girl that runs through the halls and laughs?" Yukine asked the leading question. If she did this right, Fuko might be able to talk to another person at the school.

"Yeah," Youhei laughed, "everyone has heard that one."

"Well," Yukine hoped Youhei was ready for the next step, "what if the ghost is actually the ikiryo of Fuko Ibuki and she is running all over the school trying to find her friends?"

"Yeah," Youhei was impressed with Yukine's imagination and thought her idea made a better story than the ghost explanation. "Yeah, that makes a pretty good story."

"So, you think it might be possible?" Yukine asked.

"I don't know," Youhei said doubtfully, "but it does make a good story."

"Oh, I see." Yukine seemed disappointed.

"Why is this important to you?"

"Well," Yukine admitted, "I was hoping you might be open to the idea in case…"

"In case what?" Youhei was curious what Yukine was hiding now.

"In case you meet her."

"Fuko?" Youhei asked.

"Yes?" a voice came from his left.

"Fuko!" Youhei gasped when he turned his head and saw Fuko sitting next to him. The memories came back and he felt the dizziness again but there was something else. Something he had to know. He reached out and took Fuko's hand and held on to it.

"Ah!" Fuko cried out, "The weird guy grabbed Fuko!"

"Stop calling me that!" Youhei tried to think, "I have to hold on! I have to remember you!"

"Oh," Fuko stopped struggling, "Do you? Do you remember Fuko?"

"Yes." Youhei turned to Yukine now and asked her, "Do you remember her too?"

"For some reason," Yukine explained, "I never forgot her."

"Oh," Youhei considered this, "but, why didn't you tell me? Have you told Tomoya and Nagisa yet?"

"No," Yukine seemed happy as she told him, "you are the first. But I don't know how long it will last."

"What do you mean?" Youhei asked.  
"You may forget her if you let go of her hand or when she is out of sight. You may remember her until you go to sleep tonight. There is a chance you may never forget her now. I just don't know." Yukine took Youhei's other hand and told him, "This isn't the first time you have remembered her. There are a few others that have seen her and started to remember too, but it is painful for them and sometimes they even black out. But they always forget afterwards."

"Oh," Youhei could see the delight in Yukine's face and knew that something special had happened. "But now that I've remembered, I don't want to forget again."

"I know," Yukine squeezed his hand, "you have made a tremendous step being able to see Fu-chan and not pass out this time."

"You," Fuko asked Youhei timidly, "you want to remember Fuko?"

"Yeah, Fuko." Youhei told her, "We did something important together. Well, mostly you and Tomoya and Furukawa. But I helped a lot, right?"

"Yes," Fuko admitted, "Fuko appreciates you coming to Fuko's sister's wedding at the school."

"You see Fuko," Youhei told her, "I haven't done a lot of things that were important or useful since I started high school, so I don't want to forget this." Turning back to Yukine he asked, "So, what do we do now?"

"Well," Yukine said apologetically, "I hate to suggest it since you just said how much you want to remember, but… we need to see how long you can remember Fu-chan."

"Eh?"

"You need to look at Fu-chan but let go of her hand now." Yukine explained.

"Okay," Youhei started to let go but then grasped the hand firmly, "What if I forget?"

"Don't worry," Yukine promised, "I will help you to remember Fu-chan again."

"Promise?" Youhei asked while still looking at Fuko.

"I promise." Yukine said and saw Youhei let go of Fuko's hand.

"Miyazawa-san, I still see Fuko!" Youhei said triumphantly.

"Good!" Yukine congratulated him. "Now let's try something else. I want you to call me Yu-chan."

"What?" Youhei started to turn his head to look at the girl making the sudden request but Yukine put her hand on his head and kept him facing Fuko.

"Just try it a few times," she told him.

"Yu-chan," Youhei said aloud, "Hello Yu-chan."

"Hello Sunohara-san." she replied.

"That's not going to work," Youhei decided, "if I'm going to call you Yu-chan, you should call me Youhei-kun."

"Thank you, Youhei-kun."

"You're welcome, Yu-chan."

"Great," Yukine went to the next step in her plan, "now turn your head and look at me and see if you still remember Fu-chan after you aren't looking at her any more."

"Okay," Youhei turned his head and looked up into Yukine's eyes from his position down in her lap.

Yukine watched his face to see if there was any change. His expression was the same and his eyes were still the steel blue eyes they had always been. She had hopes that Youhei might still remember until he spoke.

"Miyazawa-san, why is my head in your lap?"

"Oh..." she almost called him Youhei-kun, "Sunohara-san! Are you okay now? You came in the room quite upset about something and fainted. I have been taking care of you."

"You have?" Youhei looked around, "uh… thanks. I think I can get up now."

"Okay," Yukine tried to hide her disappointment that he seemed to remember nothing of Fuko… again. "Was there something you needed to talk about?

Yukine listened to his story of the meeting with Sugisaka and Nagisa Furukawa's decision to give up on the Drama Club. She didn't know what to do about that situation. She didn't tell Youhei, but she really sided with Nagisa Furukawa on the issue. It was her effort to re-establish the Drama Club so the decision do drop it should be hers as well. Although she couldn't give him any advice, it seemed to help him that she listened – and she used the opportunity to read Youhei his horoscope before he went off to lunch. He seemed to get an idea from the astrological fortune and left the room very quickly.

"Yu-chan?" Fuko asked after he had left.

"Yes?" Yukine sipped her coffee.

"Why didn't you make him see Fuko again?"

"I don't want to wear him out," Yukine explained, "but he will see you again. I promise."

"Hmmm." Fuko considered.

"Fu-chan," Yukine asked her friend, "Do you want him to see you again?"

"Fuko isn't sure. Fuko still thinks he is a weird guy."

"I see," Yukine took another sip of the coffee, then suggested, "You should follow him around and see what kind of a person he is."

"Fuko doesn't want..."

"Or you can drink some of my special dark roast coffee?"

"Fuko doesn't like the dark coffee!" Fuko abruptly stood and moved to the door, "Fuko will follow the weird guy now!"

.

Only a minute after leaving the Resource Room, Youhei ran into Tomoyo in the hall. She was getting pressured from two students to join the Girls Judo Club. At first he was tempted to take another staircase and let her get hassled. But things were different now. If she was as athletic at basketball as she had been at kick-the-Youhei, she might be able to help with his plan. Turning around again, he headed for the confrontation.

"Hello Sakagami-san," he said as he moved in between Tomoyo and the two students. "We have to go now." he said as he took her hand.

"What?" Tomoyo was surprised but embraced the opportunity to get away from the Judo Club captains, "Oh yes."

The two Judo Club captains were about to try and stop him but they recognized Youhei. They weren't afraid of him but they could not afford to get involved with one of the two most notorious delinquents on campus. They also wondered what business Sakagami Tomoyo would have with a person like that.

"Okay Sunohara," she came to a stop after they had made it through the double-doors into the next hallway, "I appreciate you getting me away from those guys, but what are you up to?"

"Can't I just be a nice guy?" Youhei asked brightly.

"No." Tomoyo answered with a little scorn.

"No really," he tried to be sincere, "this time is different!"

"You've said that before," she remembered unhappily, "several times."

"Fair enough," Youhei admitted, "This time it's not about you or me. It's about Nagisa Furukawa and the Drama Club."

"Eh?" Tomoyo was truly surprised, but a part of her suspected he was still hatching some plot to embarrass her again. "I thought that was Okazaki's pet project?"

"It still is," Youhei explained, "but Tomoya is my friend and I'm trying to help."

"I've already told Okazaki that I don't have time to join the Drama Club."

"I know," Youhei continued, "but all I need is for you to play a game of basketball with Tomoya and me against the basketball team."

"Uh huh..." Tomoyo said skeptically, "You want me to play basketball for the Drama Club… with you and Okazaki… against the basketball team. This is really sounding like another trick."

"I…" Youhei started to argue with her, but he realized she was right. He also knew that she had no reason to trust him. Looking at her now, he could see that she was already preparing herself for one of his attacks. Not this time though. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Never mind. You're right – it does sound like a trick. And you have no reason to trust me. I'm sorry for that."

Tomoyo relaxed a little as Youhei walked away. He seemed different somehow. Maybe he really wasn't up to anything. There was something else about him that was troubling her. It was something odd about the way he was walking. His right hand was in his pocket but his left hand was in an odd position. It was as if he was holding hands with someone that wasn't there. For an instant, she thought there might be a short girl walking next to Youhei and holding his hand, but she blinked and there was no-one there. She watched Youhei until he entered the Drama Club room. Alone in this almost unused hallway, she headed off now. She had her own agenda, goals and dream – and she would move heaven and Earth to fulfill them.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Bridge

**Thursday noon, May 15 - Drama Room**

* * *

Lunch in the drama room had been interesting. It had started off gloomy with everyone understanding that Nagisa had decided not to fight the Choir club for an advisor any more. But Kyou seemed hopeful that something would fall out and told everyone not to give up hope. Almost as if they had worked on the timing and delivery, Youhei then walked in and announced that he had a solution to the problem.

He explained his zany idea of a basketball game against the basketball team to prove that Sugisaka's disability excuse was pointless and that the Choir Club should not stand in the way of the Drama Club. Around the room, there was confusion, disbelief, and even laughter. Only Kyou seemed fired up about Youhei's plan.

"Will the basketball team even do this?" Kyou asked.

"Yes," Youhei smiled, "they have already agreed."

"That doesd't soudd like theb." Tomoya asked, "Why would they agree to this?"

"Because I told them you would be playing!" Youhei chirped. Nagisa gasped as she saw the anger building in Tomoya's face.

"I'b dot playidg." Tomoya said flatly.

"You have to," Youhei begged, "this whole thing relies on you."

"I ab dot playidg basketball." Tomoya looked fiercely at Youhei across the table. He was upset that Youhei would volunteer him without asking first and Youhei knew that basketball was a touchy subject with him.

"Yes you are," Youhei got to his feet and spat back at Tomoya, "we need you!" Almost everyone else was backing away from the tables now as it looked like these two friends might actually come to blows. Surprisingly, Kotomi did not back away from where she sat beside Tomoya despite the openly displayed anger right in front of her.

"Do I'b dot!" Tomoya's hands clenched to fists.

"Yes you are." Kotomi's soft voice carried across the room before Youhei could make a retort and suddenly, everyone in the room was looking at Kotomi with stunned expressions.

"Kotobi… chad?" Tomoya was stunned and at a loss for words.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi looked up at his bruised and confused face, "you made a promise."

With all the anger drained from him, Tomoya crashed back down into his chair.

"A promise?" Youhei was still standing but no longer angry either. He looked from Kotomi to Tomoya but couldn't figure out what was happening.

"Kotomi-chan," Nagisa asked, "you are going to hold him to that promise?" Nagisa was getting ready to beg Kotomi not to do that. She had seen the pain in Tomoya when he tried to show her a single basketball shot and she didn't want to put him through that again.

"No, Nagisa-chan," Kotomi replied, "I am not the kind that forces people to adhere to there commitments."

"Then...?" Nagisa was as confused as Youhei now.

"It's Tomoya," Kyou was looking at the table as she spoke. With her long lavender hair cascading around her face, no-one could see the blush on her cheeks as she spoke of Tomoya, "I know… Everyone in this room knows that if Tomoya made a promise to a friend, he will keep it even if it kills him."

Nagisa and Ryou were looking at Tomoya as they silently agreed with Kyou's conclusion.

Tomoya and Youhei were looking at Kotomi and wondered at how she was able to remain calm when it looked like a fight was about to happen right in front of her.

Only Kotomi was looking at Kyou. She could see the subtle tremor across the shoulders and a few wet spots appear on the desk under Kyou's bowed head. She knew Kyou was hurting but she didn't know what to do. She made a point to remember to talk to Tomoya about this later.

.

 **Thursday night, May 15 - Ichinose House**

* * *

There was no longer any light coming in the windows at the Ichinose residence when Kotomi decided they had studied long enough for the day.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi asked as she looked up from the papers and placed the mechanical pencil in the box on the table.

"Yes, Kotobi-chad?" Tomoya looked up to see her dazzling purple eyes.

"We should finish this up now, so that you can get some rest for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes," she smiled, "We will be continuing the basketball therapy tomorrow before school."

"Oh yeah," Tomoya was not looking forward to that. "I hope they go easy od be."

"Why?" Kotomi asked, "The damage to your face does not appear to be permanent, and I don't see how that should affect your motor skills with your left arm."

"Right," Tomoya laughed as he began packing up his study notes.

His study notes. Wow. There had been so much change in so little time. He was still amazed at it all. Sometimes he wondered what it was all good for, but it seemed to make Kotomi happy so he did his best.

"Tomoya-kun, do you not like the basketball therapy?"

"Kotobi-chad," Tomoya stopped what he was doing and took Kotomi's hands in his, "I dod't like wakidg up early. I dod't like the paid frob all the exercises they have be do. I dod't like beidg so pathetic od the court, add I dod't like wakidg up so early."

"You said that one twice." Kotomi commented.

"I kdow," Tomoya smiled, "I really dod't like that wod."

"I understand," Kotomi looked saddened by his words.

"Kotobi-chad," Tomoya looked into her eyes, took a breath and continued, "I bay dot like those thidgs but I kdow this is ibportadt to you, and I kdow that it is good for be too."

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi let go of his hands so she could continue to put things away, "I was concerned that you were starting to resent me."

"Baka!" Tomoya laughed it off, "Dod't eved thidk such thidgs."

"I'm sorry." Kotomi looked genuinely upset at Tomoya's comment.

"Hey," Tomoya lifted her chin so that they were looking into each other's eyes again, "Dod't get so depressed over words like that."

"So, I should think such things?" Kotomi blinked.

"Do," Tomoya winced at Kotomi's innocence, "dod't get upset if sobeode calls you ad idiot."

"Why not?" Kotomi looked to Tomoya for clarification.

"Well," Tomoya explained, "sidce you're about as far away frob ad idiot as adyode could be, the cobbent is probably beadt as a joke."

"I see," Kotomi looked as though she was thinking his words through very carefully. As Tomoya finished packing up and putting on his jacket, Kotomi seemed to come to a decision. "Tomoya-kun, will you help me develop my social skills?"

"What?" Tomoya was surprised.

"You seem to be adept at social interactions that I find baffling."

"I dod't kdow if I ab the best persod to ask." Tomoya considered, "I thidk most people would say that I'b a scary delidquedt."

"That is true," Kotomi observed.

"Ouch," Tomoya winced from the cold observation, "so brutal!"

"...but only until they get to know you." Kotomi continued, "After interacting with you socially, those same people that thought you were scary no longer feel that way, and have even become friends."

"Okay thed," Tomoya felt better after Kotomi finished her thought, but still had some reservations, "I will help but I thidk it would be a good idea if we got the help of a few friedds that are always dice."

"Nagisa and Ryou." they both said at the same time. Then they both laughed.

"About Kyou-chan," Kotomi told Tomoya, "I believe something is wrong with her."

"Oh," Tomoya smiled, "you're trying udderstatebedt hubor?"

"No, this is not humor Tomoya-kun," Kotomi said, "I am concerned. But I am not good at these things, so please observe her for a while and see if my misgivings are baseless."

"Okay," Tomoya promised, "I'll do that."

Tomoya and Kotomi stood in the foyer. Tomoya had his book bag in hand and was ready to walk home. He didn't want to go home, but Kotomi was right. He would need his rest for tomorrow.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi faced him with her hand on the door knob of the unopened door, will you kiss me goodnight before you leave?"

"I don't know," Tomoya replied, "are you sure I'm not too scary?" Tomoya watched as Kotomi did not respond for almost a minute other than to raise an eyebrow and gaze at him as if she were studying some sort of specimen.

"Ah," she finally said, "that was an attempt at humor."

"Obviously," Tomoya groaned, "dot a very good wod."

"So my response should be, 'As we have interacted socially, you are no longer scary to me.'" Kotomi smiled, "But in truth, you have never been scary to me."

"I'b glad to hear that," Tomoya didn't bother to correct her on the humor response, "add yes, I would like to kiss you gooddight bef..."

Tomoya didn't get to finish his sentence as the purple haired girl was suddenly and firmly pressed up against him with her own arms wrapped around his neck and her lips fiercely pressed to his. Such passion! He had only planned to give her a chaste kiss. Socially awkward and shy as she was, Tomoya had been worried about going too fast with her, but that concern now seemed misguided. He kissed her back with as much passion as she kissed him. His hands pulled her into a tight embrace and she moaned her acceptance as he tried to crush their two bodies into the same physical space. Tomoya's brain was racing with his heart. He was holding Kotomi so close he thought he could feel her heartbeat as well. How long had he been kissing her? It didn't matter, he could kiss this girl for eternity if she wished!

"Tomoya!" Kotomi gasped as she pulled herself up his body and kissed his forehead – baring her neck to him at the same time. He kissed her under her ear and breathed in the scent from her slender neck and luscious hair. It was heaven, but he knew he had to stop. Relaxing his arms, he slowly let her down until her feet were back on the floor.

"Thank you Tomoya-kun," Kotomi seemed a little dazed as they disentangled, "a most enjoyable kiss."

"Yeah," Tomoya knew he should say something memorable but was stumbling mentally at the moment, "that was great. We have to do that agaid." _I'_ _m such an i_ _diot! Was that the best_ _I_ _could do?_ He wanted to kick himself.

"Yes," Kotomi opened the door, "again is good."

"Good dight, Kotobi-chad." Tomoya said as he went through the door into the night air.

"Good night, Tomoya-kun," Kotomi called after him as she closed the door. Kotomi looked at the closed door for a while after Tomoya had left. Then she leaned back against the wall behind her and slid to the floor as her wobbly legs gave out.

"We have to do that again." Kotomi repeated Tomoya's words. A big smile spread across her face as she remembered his words.

.

 **Thursday night, May 15 - The Bridge**

* * *

It was late when Tomoya got to the old bridge. The hazy yellow street lights discolored the normally gray and white stones of the old bridge. At this hour, there was no traffic and almost no-one around as he approached the midpoint between Kotomi's home and his house. There was a solitary figure on the bridge in his path, but he was just leaning on the stone parapet, looking into the darkness where the flowing water should be. Tomoya was so deep in his own thoughts, he barely registered the man until he was passing him and heard him speak.

"Tomoya Okazaki," the voice calmly asked, "have you got a moment?"

"Eh?" Tomoya snapped out of his daze and, finally recognizing the gentleman, executed a small bow and responded, "Kobayashi-hakase, of course. Sorry, I didd't dotice..."

"It's quite all right." Kobayashi Jun turned back to the darkness below, "Are you in a hurry?"

"Dot really," Tomoya smiled inwardly as he found another excuse to avoid getting home to his inebriated father.

"How was your day?" Kobayashi Jun's voice actually seemed interested.

"Really?" Tomoya was a little surprised at this question, "Uh, okay I guess."

"If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to," Jun sounded concerned now, "but I really am interested. I am not one for idle chit chat."

Much had happened since the birthday party. At first Tomoya considered not saying anything about now being Kotomi's boyfriend, but decided it would be better not to try to hide anything from this man. Preparing himself for rejection from Kotomi's guardian, he decided to tell him now.

"Kotobi has codfessed to be," Tomoya pushed the words out, "add I to her."

"Oh?" Jun asked conversationally, "when did that happen?"

"The dight of the birthday pa..." Tomoya suddenly realized that the professor was far too calm about this. In shock, he stood up straight and asked, "You… you already kdew?"

"Yes," Kobayashi Jun turned to look at the surprised teen and admitted, "I was watching from the bridge behind her house. I couldn't hear the words but the movements of the ritual were easy to determine."

"Add," Tomoya was almost afraid to ask, "You're dot upset?"

"Not at all." Jun gazed at the stunned teen for a moment, "I am in fact, quite pleased."

"Eh?" Tomoya was surprised that this man was not concerned that a delinquent like himself was Kotomi's boyfriend. Surely the man must have some serious questions about Tomoya's character?

"I do have a question for you though?" Jun seemed to be studying Tomoya for any sign of deception as a scientist studies a bug under a magnifying glass.

"Yes?" Tomoya steeled himself yet again.

"What happened to your face?" Jun asked.

"By face?" Tomoya almost forgot about his blackened eyes and swollen nose. "Oh, I didd't duck fast edough whed Kyou threw a dictiodary at be."

"Kyou… Fujibayashi?" Jun asked.

"Yes," Tomoya confirmed. "I dod't thidk she meadt to hit be. If I hadd't beed exhausted frob Kotobi's basketball therapy, I would have beed able to bove faster."

"How has this affected Kotomi?" Jun rubbed his chin as he asked.

"What do you bean?"

"Kotomi has always been fearful of bullies."

"Kyou is not a bully." Tomoya said defensively.

"I am not saying that she is." Jun raised an eyebrow, "Ask yourself what Kotomi considers to be a bully and decide whether Kyou may now be a frightening presence to Kotomi."

Oh," Tomoya thought over the events of the last several days, "I see what you bean. And I'b sorry for adsweridg rudely."

"Not at all," Jun shook his head, "Your loyalty to your friends is one of your best characteristics."

"I thidk," Tomoya answered after a few more minutes of thought, "Kotobi was scared of Kyou at first. But Kyou apologized to everyode. In fact, we are a little worried about her."

"How so?"

"She hasd't beed herself recedtly. She's been really depressed ever sidce… I bead… I'b glad she is sorry for what she did, but she's acting like she killed someode." Tomoya struggled to find the right words for how he felt.

"That someone would be you." Jun pointed out.

"Well yeah, but..."

"She had a crush on you." Jun mentioned.

"She… WHAT?!" Tomoya gasped.

"It was fairly obvious but, of course, you didn't see it." Jun answered calmly.

"Obvious?" Tomoya asked in a daze, "Why didd't I see it?"

"You're an idiot." Jun smiled.

"What?" Tomoya was a little stunned that he would say that just now.

"Of course I could be wrong." Jun gazed out at the darkness again, "But from my observations at the party, it was fairly obvious. The way she always smiled when you were near. Always watching you. Always attentive when you spoke. Always eager to help when you expressed a need. And always a bit of sorrow whenever you were alone with Kotomi."

"I..." Tomoya desperately wanted to dispute this conclusion. His memory raced back to the party and even to every interaction with Kyou since the beginning of the year. "I..." Even the times she had given him grief, she always left with a smile or a laugh. "I… ab ad idiot."

"Don't worry about it," Jun patted his shoulder, "You're a teenage boy – it goes with the territory."

"Yeah… I guess." Tomoya was still stunned from this revelation.

"You know what this means though?" Jun asked him.

"You're dot goidg to tell be to distadce byself frob her, are you?" Tomoya asked suspiciously.

"No," Jun chuckled, "in fact, I wouldn't accept you as Kotomi's boyfriend if you even suggested that."

"Oh," again Tomoya felt that he should apologize to Kobayashi-hakase for his baseless assumptions. He knew the professor would just wave it off again. Instead he asked, "Thed, what does it bead?"

"Fujibayashi Kyou is broken," Jun looked hard into the darkness below now, "and you are the only one that can fix her."

"What? But I..." before he finished the sentence, he knew the professor was right. "What should I do?"

"That, I don't know." Kobayashi Jun admitted. "There are of course, many things to consider."

"Like?"

"Can you fix Kyou and still remain true to Kotomi?" Jun started down a list, "Should you come up with a plan on your own, and keep all of this from Kotomi? Should you tell Kotomi everything you know now and ask her to help find a solution? If you do that, how will she react? Just to name a few."

"Yeah," Tomoya was amazed at the speed of the man's intellect. Tomoya did notice that all the questions about how to fix Kyou, involved Kotomi. Tomoya was curious now, "Are you trying to fidd out sobethidg about Kotobi?"

"No," Jun turned to Tomoya and watched his reaction carefully now, "I am trying to find out something about you." Interestingly, Tomoya seemed more at ease after hearing this.

"Sure," he sounded resigned but not nervous, "what do you wadt to kdow?"

"Well," Jun's eyebrow went up, "first I would like to know why you aren't asking me why I want to know about you?"

"That seebs obvious," Tomoya turned now to look over the parapet at the darkness below as well, "I ab your goddaughter's boyfriedd. I ibagide you wadt to kdow what kind of person I ab so you cad decide if I'b good edough for her." Tomoya's shoulders slumped, then he said, "I cad save you a lot of tibe. I ab a delidquedt. I'b dot good edough."

"I see," Jun commented calmly, "Did you tell that to Kotomi?"

"Yes." Tomoya sighed, "She didd't care. She wadts..." He couldn't finish as he realized that he may not be allowed to continue the relationship he had just started.

"You're wrong." Jun stated.

"About what?" Tomoya expected the worst as he steeled himself for the answer.

"Just about everything, really." Jun said patiently, "By definition, a delinquent is a young criminal – so you may have some irresponsible behavior issues, but that doesn't make you a delinquent." Tomoya looked at Jun in shock after he said that. "Are you good enough for Kotomi? Of course you are. I have no doubt of that."

"Thed what..." Tomoya was still too stunned at what he had just heard to get the question out.

"To be honest," Jun put his hand on Tomoya's shoulder, "I am concerned that she is going to leave you behind. And how she will suffer for it."

"Leave be behidd?"

"I know you're thinking that things are great now, but they will not continue this way indefinitely." Jun asked Tomoya, "Did you know that she has already received several full scholarship offers from Universities in America?"

"What? But..." Tomoya looked down.

"She has a brilliant mind. Just like her parents. I'm sure she has already thought of this." Jun let that sink in for a few minutes. "I heard several stories about you at the birthday party."

"Oh?" Tomoya was a bit confused at the apparent subject change.

"You are quite the prankster." Jun chuckled as he recalled the stories.

"Oh... yeah..." Tomoya didn't know whether this was a complement or a criticism.

"You have to be pretty smart to be able to pull off a good prank and it helps when you are smarter than the person that you are pranking, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess so." Tomoya answered uneasily.

"So here is a little warning," Jun said seriously, "I think you're a smart young man but you have been mentally idle too long. You have been coasting through life while Kotomi has been sharpening her intellect to a razor edge. Don't be tempted to think that you can baffle or bluff your way through a relationship with Kotomi. Anything you may be thinking, she is about a dozen moves ahead of you."

"So, I shouldd't eved try?" Tomoya said defensively but with a bit of despair as he knew that everything Kobayashi-hakase said was true.

"Disappointing," Jun smirked, "I didn't think you were that dense."

"What?"

"I'm not telling you to give up," Jun explained, "quite the contrary. I want you to give it your all. But don't lie. Conceal nothing. Answer honestly and trust."

"I do trust Kotobi."

"Excellent." Jun smiled, "And I will need you to trust me too."

"I'b dot sure..."

"Don't worry," Jun stopped him, "I understand that trust is earned and you and I have not yet had that much interaction."

"If it helps," Tomoya said cautiously, "I already feel that I cad cobe to trust you."

"Very good." Jun seemed pleased, "I hate to trade on that confession of trust so soon but there are some things I need to know if I am to help you."

"Oh?" Tomoya wondered just what help Kobayashi-hakase had in mind.

"Let me ask you," Jun turned to Tomoya, "would you do whatever it takes to keep Kotomi from going abroad so that she would stay with you?"

"Yes!" Tomoya immediately answered because it sounded like a challenge to his feelings for Kotomi, but his resolve withered when he realized just what that would do to her dreams of following her parents research. Turning back to the darkness where the waters would be running under the bridge he responded, "Do. I wouldd't do that to her."

"Because..." Jun prompted.

"It would destroy her dreab." Tomoya knew what that felt like to lose one's dream, and he would never wish that on Kotomi, "I would dever do that to her."

"You are indeed, a fine young man." Jun smiled, "But you need not be so discouraged."

Tomoya was about to ask why he should be anything but discouraged and saw that Kobayashi-hakase had a finger up as if making a point.

"Now I will ask you a question on something you might consider personal." Jun didn't see a concerned reaction from Tomoya and pressed on, "the other night when Kotomi confessed to you… it looked like you bargained or made conditions. Can I ask you what they were?"

"Ub… yeah. It really isd't that persodal I guess." Tomoya answered carefully, "Kotobi agreed that we will both codtidue to help out the Draba Club."

"Furukawa Nagisa's dream."

"Yes." Tomoya continued, "add I probised to study hard to ibprove acadebically add to try playing basketball by leardidg to shoot with by left hadd."

"Now, some observations and questions to help direct your thought process." Kobayashi-hakase now held up two fingers, "You don't want her to leave you behind after she graduates, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct." Tomoya answered quickly.

"You won't stop her from going abroad to pursue her dream, correct?" Jun held up a third finger.

"Do, I wodn't do that." Tomoya knew the professor was trying to make an important point but the questions seemed too easy so far – and he couldn't see where they were leading.

"So if she must go, and you don't want to be left behind," Jun watched the young man's face closely, "what is the only solution to this dilemma?"

"I would have to…" Tomoya knew the answer already but was afraid to say them since it was so impossible. But it was the only solution that fit the parameters that Kobayashi-hakase had allowed. "I would have to go with her."

"Excellent," Jun made a fist as he continued, "and since she is going as a student on a student visa, how will you be able to go with her?"

"As a studedt?" Tomoya said the impossibility before he could stop himself.

"Not so dense after all." Jun said as he patted Tomoya on the shoulder.

"But I couldd't possibly… There's do way…" Tomoya's mind reeled at the impossibility of what Kobayashi-hakase was suggesting.

"Why not?" Jun asked as if he couldn't imagine any road blocks to this course of action.

"I'b a terrible studedt. My grades are..." Tomoya was interrupted by that finger again. But this time he noticed that Kobayashi-hakase was smiling as he rebuked Tomoya's concerns.

"It may look impossible now, but if you were a very committed student and you had an equally committed tutor, you could do it." Jun said confidently.

"But..." Tomoya knew that the lure of being able to go with Kotomi, to be by her side after graduation was certainly enough inspiration for him and he already knew that Kotomi was very serious about his promise to correct his academic performance. The problem was time. How could he correct two years worth of academic stagnation in time? "There isd't tibe! I cad't be ready by this widter for the exabs..."

"Spring." Jun said simply.

"What?"

"The American Academic year is September to August, not April to March like it is here in Japan. That means you have three additional months to prepare yourself."

"I could…" Tomoya was excited about something he could accomplish for himself for the first time in a long time, but he was almost too afraid to say it out loud. One look at Kobayashi-hakase's face told him he must say it regardless, "I cad do this! I have to tell Kotobi!"

"Do you really?" Jun's eyebrow went up.

"What?" Tomoya was trying to interpret what Kobayashi-hakase meant by that question.

"Think about it," Jun said slowly, "what was her condition to you?"

Tomoya said nothing but realized what the professor was implying. She already knew. This was already her plan.

"Remember," Kobayashi-hakase smiled and repeated his earlier comment, "Anything you may be thinking, she is about a dozen moves ahead of you."

Tomoya was in stunned silence as he let the words sink in. He looked over the edge of the bridge into the darkness below. Even though he could not see the water that he knew was down there, he realized that he could hear it as it slapped against the rocks below.

"Good night Okazaki Tomoya," Kobayashi Jun walked toward the end of the bridge in the direction that Tomoya had come, "go home and get some sleep. You have long days ahead of you."


	6. Chapter 6 - Remember Fuko

**Thursday night, May 15 - Okazaki home**

* * *

The place smelled of cheap cigarette ashes, sweat, vomit, urine, and too many drinks spilled on the floor and never adequately cleaned up. That might have been fine for a dive bar or a gang hideout. In one of those kinds of places, it might have even been referred to as ambiance. The old clock radio blaring an agricultural report would have been out of place though. It was certainly not the right kind of atmosphere for a residence, especially a residence with a child. Tomoya stood at the entrance to the Okazaki home and waited for the visual onslaught to catch up to the smell that hit him before he had even opened the door. His father was lying on the floor amidst a scattering of bottles. Tomoya could see that several of them still had a half to a third of their contents. He knew that drunks were like that… or at least the drunks that were like his father were like that. He had seen his father reach for another drink when he still had a half finished drink in his other hand.

Looking at the counter not far from where his father lay on the floor, there was a radio and a few more bottles. Tomoya noticed the absence of any fast food cartons or wrappers and knew what that meant. Drinking on an empty stomach meant that the old man would get drunk faster, but it also meant that when he woke up he would likely be sick. Again.

Contempt, disgust, and rage warred for dominance as Tomoya looked down at the passed out parent on the floor before him. And yet, there was still concern. In that position, if his father vomited in his sleep he would suffocate and die. He would need to be moved, Tomoya knew better than to try to help him just yet though. He stepped over the snoring body and went to his room. A few minutes later he returned wearing old clothes he kept around for chore work… and this. Waking up a drunk could be hazardous to the clothes. All the nasty smells from the floor could be on his father and would end up on Tomoya too. Some times a roused drunk comes up swinging so there could be blood too. He could afford to loose the chore clothes, but school uniforms were expensive.

Tomoya picked up the bottles and moved the chair that was within reach. Now it was just a matter of waking him and getting him to shuffle off to the bedroom or the bathroom. It took several tries but it appeared that he wasn't as bad off this evening as usual. Watching his father stumble off towards his room, Tomoya was doing a good job of choking down the despair and contempt until Naoyuki Okazaki had a moment of clarity, recognized his son, and spoke.

"Ah Tomoya-kun," he mumbled, "it seems I've been some trouble for you." The clarity didn't last long and he seemed to be distracted by something stuck to his fingers as he disappeared into his room.

"What!" Tomoya knew what that meant. He had heard that line before… too many times. Stepping quickly into the kitchen he opened the rice cooker that had been broken for years and confirmed that there was no money there. Racing to his room, he opened his sock drawer and confirmed what he already knew; that money was gone too.

"Please, please, please..." he said to himself as he pulled another drawer completely out and looked at the back. Even there, the envelope that he had carefully taped to the back was ripped open, and empty. Sitting down, he pulled out his wallet and looked at what was left. There was barely enough money for three more lunches and he would be out until the end of the month. He was furious with his father. The old man had let Tomoya down again. He was about to put his fist through the wall when a thought occurred to him.

Tomoya realized that he hadn't actually bought a lunch in over a week now. Even on the weekends, he was studying over at Kotomi's house and she had been making sure he wasn't eating junk food by showing off her rather impressive cooking skills. In fact, she had been making sure he had a breakfast on the days when he was scheduled to arrive early for the basketball therapy and he had been eating dinner with her during each night's study session. It suddenly occurred to him how much impact his 'boyfriend' status was making on the Ichinose food bill.

Guilt blindsided him. She was doing so much for him. She was taking care of his nutrition, arranging his physical rehabilitation, personally conducting his academic restoration… and what had he done for her? He threw her a birthday party. Big deal. Sure, she thought he was good enough for her but she was obviously blinded by love. No-one in their right mind would even allow a delinquent like him in the same room with Ko…

 _"Are you good enough for Kotomi? Of course you are. I have no doubt of that."_ The words of Kobayashi-hakase came back to him then.

How could he believe that? How could anyone believe that? The conversation on the bridge had been eye opening. It seemed that Kotomi's god-father was a more diligent guardian than Tomoya had suspected. He knew about Tomoya's past and even his current condition and did not seem concerned.

 _"I am concerned that she is going to leave you behind. And how she will suffer for it."_ another thing Kobayashi-hakase had said on the bridge came back to Tomoya.

 _"And how she will suffer for it."_ Tomoya rolled those words over in his mind again. What had Kobayashi-hakase meant by that? Unfortunately, Tomoya hadn't asked Kobayashi-hakase to explain a lot of what he had said at the time. Now he wished he had, but there would be another chance. Much of what Kobayashi-hakase said left Tomoya puzzled, but of this he was certain: Kobayashi-hakase took his role of guardian seriously and they would meet again.

.

 **Friday morning, May 16 - High School Gym**

* * *

Kotomi smiled as the morning basketball therapy session came to an end. Tomoya was clearly happy with himself. Where previously the ball was hitting the backboard most of the time but never going in the net, he was now getting the ball in the net about half the time. Of course, he didn't have the pressure of playing against real opponents; the two rookie players were there primarily to assist the coach. So far their job had been to fetch balls and return them to the coach or to Tomoya if he was ready for them.

Something was different. Tomoya wasn't walking off the court like he usually did after the coach called an end to the session. He had called the coach and the two players back and was talking to them. Kotomi watched as the coaches initial negative reaction to whatever it was Tomoya was asking, slowly changed to a thoughtful countenance. The coach briefly spoke with the two rookies then the coach and one of the rookies backed off the court.

"No." Kotomi's almost inaudible voice couldn't be heard by anyone there. She knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to play a little one-on-one. It was too dangerous to try that now. He wasn't ready and an injury now would set him back so much. Even a loss of confidence would reduce the effectiveness of the therapy. He had truly been trying so hard.

Tomoya threw the ball to the rookie. The rookie threw the ball back to Tomoya and immediately went to a defensive position. Tomoya seemed to move in two directions at once for a moment. The rookie moved left and in a flash, Tomoya was past him on the right. The look on the rookie's face was one of stunned disbelief. He had never seen anyone move so fast before. He hurried to catch the agile senior but it was too late. Tomoya was already going up for his shot. The ball hit the backboard, bounced off the rim… and fell to the court below. He had missed.

Kotomi worried that Tomoya would be crushed that he had missed the shot but with a determined look on his face, he went back to the starting position. Again, the ball was passed back and forth, then Tomoya was zipping past the rookie and going up for his shot. Kotomi almost shouted for joy when the ball went in the net this time, but she wasn't sure if she was supposed to.

A third time would see Tomoya zoom past the defensive player once again but fail to get the ball to go through the net like the first time. A thirty-three percent success rate. Kotomi wondered if this was a passing score in basketball. She wasn't sure but the look of triumph on Tomoya's face was unmistakable. In only a few strides of his long legs, he was before her.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya moved his hands to hold her shoulders while he looked deep into her eyes.

"Yes, Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi could feel the excitement radiating from her boyfriend. She wondered if he could feel hers.

"I… " he suddenly looked around as if to verify that they were alone in the gymnasium.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi realized what Tomoya's actions meant and took a step toward him to let him know she wanted it too. It was all the encouragement he needed. In a second, he swept her off her feet and into his arms. Her chest crashed into his as a strong arm closed across the small of her back. Another arm was behind her shoulder as a hand ran through her deep purple hair to cradle the back of her head and bring her face up to his.

Their lips met and it brought back all the fireworks she had seen the other night. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled herself even tighter into his embrace. Her mouth opened and she licked his coarse lips with her tongue. His mouth opened and their tongues dueled between sealed lips.

Someone gasped.

Someone sighed.

Kotomi broke the kiss like she did the other night and again pulled herself up Tomoya's body so that she could kiss the crown of his head, and again left her neck exposed. Tomoya tilted his head and kissed her below the ear and inhaled her distinctive aroma. This time, he finished the kiss on her neck ran his teeth and tongue down her neck to her collarbone.

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi cried out in ecstasy as her body went stiff, then spasmed uncontrollably. Tomoya held onto her until she stopped shaking, then lowered her onto the bench next to their briefcases and bento boxes.

"Are you okay now?" Tomoya asked his slightly disheveled looking girlfriend.

"Fine" Kotomi panted, "Now I'm yes."

"Eh?" Tomoya looked at her with an expression of mixed concern and bemusement.

"Yes," Kotomi tried again, "I'm fine now. You should hurry and get cleaned up." She patted one of the bento boxes, "I have your breakfast ready for you when you get out."

"Okay then," Tomoya smiled, "I'll be right back."

Before Tomoya had cleared the bench, Kotomi was searching the other side of the court with her eyes. She saw the lone silhouette of a girl with long hair standing in the shadow of a support pillar on the far end of the gymnasium. The light wasn't good enough to make out color but she knew it would be lavender and the eyes looking back at her would be purple. The figure started to move off toward the exit at the far end.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi said in a normal voice. The figure stopped in its tracks. "Please come here. I need you." For a moment the figure did not move. Slowly, she moved into the light and crossed the court to Kotomi. Soon, Kyou stood before Kotomi, still seated at the bench.

"So," Kyou monotoned, "what need does the great Kotomi-chan have for me?" Kotomi was not as good at picking up verbal and non-verbal clues as Tomoya was, but even she could tell that this wasn't sarcasm. Kyou genuinely sounded defeated.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi stood and offered the seat to Kyou, "please take this seat and wait for Tomoya to return from the shower."

"Eh?"

"I need to go to the bathroom myself and I want to make sure that Tomoya starts eating his breakfast as soon as he is back, or we will be late to class."

"I see," Kyou looked at the bench and the indicated box.

"You will do this for me… and for Tomoya?"

"For Tomoya and..." Kyou said as if in a daze. Taking the seat and pulling the breakfast box into her lap, she looked up to Kotomi and answered, "Yes. I can do this." Kyou looked back down at the box in her lap and neither saw nor heard Kotomi hurry off to the bathroom. Less than a minute later, and after Kyou had spent an eternity staring at the box, Tomoya returned now wearing his school uniform. Kyou was startled when she heard his voice.

"Kotomi-chan, your hair looks really different from behind… Kyou?" Tomoya was startled as the girl he thought was Kotomi turned to face him and he gazed into bloodshot purple eyes. Her look was all wrong too. Her shoulders slumped and her clothes looked as if she had slept in them from the night before.

"Okazaki-san," she raised the box up to him, "Kotomi-chan wants you to eat this quickly."

"Okazaki-san?" Tomoya's eyes opened wide, "Since when do you call me that?"

"I just think..." she looked away from Tomoya's face, still with her arms outstretched with the breakfast box for him to take. "I don't..." the feelings were welling up again. Anger, remorse, fear, and loathing warring within her soul.

"Kyou, we need to talk..." his voice sounded so understanding and forgiving.

"Just take the damn food!" Kyou was suddenly on her feet and thrusting the box into Tomoya's hands.

"Kyou, I..."

"Just sit down, eat your breakfast, wait for your girlfriend to get back and get to class on time!" Kyou yelled through building tears, "That's all you have to do!" Kyou was storming off.

"But Kyou, I..."

"No!" Kyou was running away now, "You don't have to do anything else." She knew what he was going to say. She could hear it in his voice. He was going to forgive her. How could he do that? Why would he do that? How dare he do that, when she could not even begin to forgive herself?

Tomoya had thought of going after Kyou, but all their stuff was on the bench and Kotomi had not returned from the bathroom yet. He was still considering it when Kotomi did return.

"Tomoya-kun, was Kyou here?" Kotomi blinked.

"Yes," Tomoya finished a bite of the omelet he had fished out of the box, "she got angry and ran off when I tried to talk to her though."

"I see." Kotomi then asked, "What will you do?"

"Me?" Tomoya asked.

"Of course, I can't read people as well as you can," Kotomi admitted, "but from what I can make of the relationship dynamics, you have the best chance of helping Kyou-chan recover."

"Relationship dynamics, eh?" Tomoya chuckled at Kotomi's academic approach to life itself. Then he asked, "So, according to these relationship dynamics, who would have the second best chance?"

"Ryou-chan." Kotomi answered immediately.

"Well then," Tomoya closed up the spent breakfast box and rose from the bench, "lets talk to Fujibayashi first. Then I'll come up with a plan."

.

 **Friday morning, May 16 - Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

"Ah!" Furukawa Akio called out upon seeing the head of short purple hair slipping in the bakery door entrance, "I see our other wonderful daughter is here this morning!"

"Good morning, Akio-san." Ryou had got somewhat used to the boisterousness of the Furukawa household, but Nagisa's dad still made her blush a little when he said things like that. It also made her blush a little when she called him Akio-san, but it was either that or _dad_. Akio-san had insisted on it.

"Isn't she beautiful when she blushes like that?" Akio actually called attention to the blush on her cheeks, which of course made her blush more.

"Akio-san!" Ryou wanted to beg him to stop torturing her in front of the morning customers, but one of them saved her.

"She is indeed very pretty," a kindly lady spoke up, "but you mustn't forget Nagisa. She is very pretty too."

"Indeed she is," Akio beamed, "when the two of them are together, they break all the hearts in the room!" Ryou's face was completely red now so Akio decided to let the poor girl off easy, "I suppose you are looking for Nagisa. She is in the kitchen finishing the lunches now, if you want to go back."

"Yes, thank you!" Ryou fled the shop, and Furukawa Akio's well intentioned tormenting. She was familiar with the Furukawa house now and found her way to the family kitchen quickly. As she entered, she saw Nagisa leaning over a preparation tray, intent on her work. Her lunches had been so good, and the kinds of things she made were so varied that Ryou had thought she had been getting help from her mother. But a few visits to the bakery dispelled that suspicion. Since the morning was the busiest time for a bakery, Sanae-san had long ago taught Nagisa to make her own lunches. Ryou watched with admiration as Nagisa moved with practiced skill and ease in the kitchen. Nagisa made it look easy just like Kyou-chan…

Kyou-chan. Ryou's good mood was falling fast as she thought about her troubled sister. Not for the first, or even the thousand and first time did Ryou wish that there was something she could do. But she couldn't think of anything. And that troubled her too.

"Ah, Ryou-chan!" Nagisa's bright voice brought Ryou out of her melancholy, "I didn't know if you had a lunch today, but I made enough for two and I…" Nagisa's happy look changed to one of concern as she studied Ryou's face. After washing her hands, she made her way around the kitchen table to her dear friend and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What?" Ryou knew that she had been smiling since Nagisa had noticed her and wondered what was making her friend ask that question. "I'm fine, what makes you think..."

Nagisa said nothing but reached out to Ryou's face with a tissue and dabbed at the tears. There were tears in Ryou's eyes and more tears running down her face. Ryou was shocked; she didn't even know she had been crying.

"Oh Nagisa," she let it flood out, "I'm so worried about Onee-chan! I want to help her. She's the one that's always helping me. I just don't know what to do."

"She isn't any better today?"

"I don't think so." Ryou said, "She got up and left for school before anybody else got up. She always says goodbye to me… Always." Ryou's hands were clenched in fists of Nagisa's sleeves. She felt like a leaf in a typhoon. She feared being blown by the chaotic winds to an unknown despair. Kyou had always been her rock that she could cling to but not this time. Closing her eyes she silently prayed that this time Nagisa could be her rock.

"We can help Kyou-chan," Nagisa said confidently, "I know we can!"

Ryou's head snapped up and she looked into those wonderful golden brown eyes. She had thought, and admittedly sometimes even hoped, that the passion she had felt on the rooftop would eventually fade away. It had been a mistake after all; Nagisa had not really been there to confess to her. But the feeling didn't fade. It had grown ever so much since that fateful day. She already knew that she loved Nagisa. Now she knew Nagisa could be her rock and that made Ryou love her even more. Ryou's eyes opened wider and she felt a surge of passion and courage. She was about to confess to Nagisa when her thoughts were interrupted by another voice.

"Yes!" Akio shouted from behind them, "I don't really know what's going on but it really makes me proud of my little girl when she shows such confidence!"

"Dad!" Nagisa had jumped when her dad shouted, "Thanks for cheering me on but this is serious. We are worried about Kyou."

"Ah, yes. Kyou..." Akio rubbed his chin, "you're right of course. Very serious. Very serious indeed. Let me think."

Both of the girls in the kitchen watched Akio as he seemed to be considering very difficult options.

"I've got it!" he announced as he turned around and headed back toward the bakery, "I'll get your mother."

"Is he always like that?" Ryou asked with an expression of disbelief hanging from her face.

"Pretty much." Nagisa said with a smile. Although her fathers antics did make her smile, the happiness Nagisa felt now was from knowing that her mother was coming to help. Her bread-making skills may be non-existent, but her guidance in matters of the heart were awe inspiring.

.

 **Friday morning, May 16 - Male Student Dormitory**

* * *

Youhei stood in his dormitory room with a dumbfounded look on his face. Someone had broken into his room and pulled down pictures and posters to put a message up across a wall. He was about to go find Misae, the dorm mother when he noticed something peculiar about the message. It was written in his own handwriting!

The dumbfounded look instantly changed to one of suspicion as he strode over to the wall and yanked down one of the pages. The front of the page just had a single extremely large character on it. As he looked at the paper in his hand, he noticed that it had writing on the back too. This also appeared to be in his handwriting. He read either a carefully forged message or a message that he wrote to himself that he didn't remember.

'Yes, this is your handwriting. Now put it back and re-read the message. DO NOT PULL IT DOWN!'

The handwriting might be forged. But the ink wasn't. He recognized the purplish black ink that skipped a little as it wrote as if the ball was damaged or defective. He knew that pen. Putting the note back in its place on the wall he went to the bookshelf and opened the memento box where that particular pen could only be. It was exactly where it should be, but there was a note taped to it, "The message is real."

The pen was an ornate award given to the most valuable player in the Soccer championship games that took place the year before he started high school. As ornate as the pen was, the actual writing component was flawed. The ink wasn't quite black and wasn't quite blue and the ball skipped on straight strokes. Putting the pen back in the box and the box back on the shelf, he turned to read the full message again.

'REMEMBER FUKO'

"Remember Fuko?" he asked aloud, "What the hell does that mean?"


	7. Chapter 7 - Jumps Like a Cat

**Friday noon, May 16 - Resource Room**

* * *

Youhei sat at the table near the windows in the resource room with a steaming cup of coffee between his hands. The aroma was strong but not bitter and he hoped the beverage would be the same. He needed some strong coffee. As pathetic as Kyou was looking these days, it was clear that she was taking her mission of turning Youhei into a proper student very seriously. She had arrived an hour earlier than necessary to go over all his homework with him. He almost snapped at her but her countenance was as murderous looking as it was pitiable.

"I'm glad you came Sunohara-san, but something tells me you didn't just come to drink coffee and chat with me." the smiling Miyazawa Yukine lifted and sipped her own coffee but kept her blue eyes on Youhei.

"Yeah," Youhei noticed how he was being observed and it was a little unsettling. He could tell that she wasn't watching him out of fear. It was something else that he couldn't quite figure out. He had come to her with a mystery that needed answers but now she was behaving mysteriously. What was with this weird atmosphere?

"Well?" she asked and gave him a mental nudge.

"I have a picture of the wall in my dorm room I want you to see." Youhei said as he started to reach into his bag.

"Well," Yukine chuckled, "I can honestly say I have never heard that line before."

"Eh?" Youhei was confused.

"You want me to come to your dorm room to look at a picture on your wall?" she asked with exaggerated suspicion.

"No no no!" Youhei waved her off, "A picture OF the wall!" He handed her an instamatic picture. He had been lucky that Misae had one of the old kinds of camera and still had some film that worked. He did notice that Yukine's eyebrows went up as she looked at the picture.

'REMEMBER FUKO'

"Remember Fuko?" Youhei asked Yukine, "Yu-chan, I want to know what that means? And why is it in my handwriting when I don't remember doing it?"

"Oh?" Yukine looked over the top of the picture she still held in her hand and back into Youhei's eyes, "you really do, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Yu-chan!" Youhei explained, "I have pretty good proof in my room that I wrote this but I don't remember doing it and there is something about the name that bothers me."

"Tell me?" Yukine prodded.

"Well, it's like there is something I'm almost remembering but can't seem to get it."

"Is it something that you want to remember?" Yukine asked.

"I don't know…" he seemed unsure at first but seemed to become more positive with each passing second, "yeah, I think… Yeah I need to know. I almost feel like I'm supposed to know."

"Good," Youhei noticed that Yukine was smiling jubilantly as she replied, "I think I can help you!"

"Great," Youhei suddenly had doubts as to how much the resource room girl could really help solve a mystery, "do you know who she is?"

"Yes."

"Eh?"

"But, I'm not going to tell you."

"Why?"

"Because you already know, but you have forgotten."

"Yu-chan, please! This doesn't make any sense." Youhei felt like he was so close to finding out what this was all about and Yukine said she would help but she wouldn't tell him?

"I don't want to tell you who Fuko is, but I do want to help you remember her from your own memories." Yukine could understand Youhei's frustration but she couldn't stop smiling after what she had heard Youhei say several times now. "Would you like that?"

"Um, okay." Youhei wondered how successful this might be. After all, he had already spent hours trying to remember anyone named Fuko that he would go to the trouble of putting the message on the wall for. "Are you sure you can help me remember?"

"I am fairly certain." she smiled back at his doubtful expression.

"How can you be so certain?" he asked.

"Because you have already told me that the memory is strong." she told him, "It just needs a little help."

"I did?" he was very doubtful now. He didn't recall making any such claim about the memory being strong.

"Let me ask you, Youhei-kun," she smiled and moved around the table to get into position in case he fainted again.

"Yes?" Youhei answered warily.

"Do you remember when I asked you to call me Yu-chan?"

"Sure," Youhei recalled the event, "I was lying on the floor with my head in your lap and you were testing me to see how long I could remember Fuko…" Youhei's eyes opened wide as he suddenly recalled everything, "OH MY GOD!"

"Success!" Yukine allowed herself a great sigh of accomplishment.

"Yeah," Youhei was looking all over the room now for Fuko to suddenly appear or walk out of the shadows. "But, where is she?"

"She's not here right now, but please," Yukine pressed him, "Tell me everything you remember!"

"I remember everything!" Youhei said excitedly, "I remember carving the wooden starfish, watching her hand them out, going to the wedding, and meeting her in this room with you."

"Excellent!" Yukine congratulated him, "I think this may be the first time since the wedding, that you have remembered Fuko without her being here."

"Great!" Youhei reveled for a moment longer in this achievement then asked Yukine, "Now what?"

.

 **Friday afternoon, May 16 - High School classrooms building**

* * *

Everyone in the Drama Club was looking for Kyou. She didn't show up in the club room for lunch like she usually did and she hadn't told her teacher or Ryou where she would be. This wasn't unprecedented, but it was pretty rare for someone as reliable as Kyou. Tomoya rounded a corner and saw Youhei talking to Tomoyo at the base of a staircase.

"Not again. We don't have time for this!" Tomoya was ready to spin kick Youhei himself for all this continued foolishness. As he drew closer he realized it wasn't what he thought after all. Youhei was thanking Tomoya for something and he sounded sincere.

"Ah, Okazaki is here," Tomoyo called out as Tomoya drew near, "then I'll leave this in your hands and head off to my meeting." Both Tomoya and Youhei watched Tomoyo running off down the corridor for a moment.

"So, you're not picking fights with Sakagami any more?" Tomoya asked.

"Old news." Youhei dismissed that conversation and turned to Tomoya with a more important message, "She found Kyou on the roof. Alone."

"Oh." Tomoya wondered when this had happened. Not only was Youhei not acting irrationally around Tomoyo, but she had stopped regarding him as something akin to pond scum to the point that they were working together. "Then I guess we should..."

"Not we." Youhei slapped Tomoya on the back, "just you."

"Eh?" Tomoya looked at his friend and wondered what he was thinking.

"One way or another, I kinda got told that I can be a little distracting and that if you get a chance to talk to Kyou, I need to get lost."

"Who told you that?" Tomoya didn't think the advice was altogether wrong, but he did wonder who had thought this through enough to come up with that advice.

"Well, let's see..." Youhei started counting off on his fingers, "Nagisa, Ryou, Kotomi, and Koumura."

"Koumura-sensei?" Tomoya was astonished.

"Yeah," Youhei stood aside and gestured for the stairs, "so here are your stairs and in case she's locked the door, here is the key."

"Where did you get the key?"

"Tomoyo," Youhei answered simply.

"Right." Tomoya took the key and headed up the stairs.

.

It turned out that Kyou hadn't locked the access door to the roof after all. Tomoya found her on the shade side of a ventilation shaft. She was leaning against the cool metal of the shaft as she sat with knees drawn up and her head down over her crossed arms. Tomoya watched her lavender hair flow with the rooftop breeze as the rest of her remained as motionless as a statue. Trying not to disturb Kyou, he sat down next to her and leaned against the ductwork too.

He had brought some drinks from the vending machine with him. Ice cold green tea with ginseng and honey. It wasn't one of his favorites and he didn't know if Kyou would like it, but it did sound refreshing on a warm day like this. He held one of them out to her in a position where he thought she could see it but she didn't react. Instead, he put the drink down on the roof under her drawn up knees.

"Kyou." he said her name just to let her know he was there. Apparently, it was necessary. She jumped a little when he spoke. He wondered if she had been asleep or if she was so into her brooding that she hadn't noticed his arrival.

"What do you want?" Her voice was completely flat. There was no anger or bitterness in it. She wasn't being sarcastic or snarky. It was just a query; there was no personality at all.

"Do you hate me?" he asked. There was a small chance that she did hate him now, but after the discussion with Ryou, this opening had the best chance of getting Kyou to open up. The expected answer was supposed to be a simple 'no'.

"I don't hate you," she replied after a minute of thought, "I really respect the reliable person you have become. But..."

"But?" Tomoya prodded.

"But I kinda miss the sly prankster you used to be." Kyou sighed, "Sometime I wish..."

"Really?" Tomoya asked at the same time that he deftly reached under he knees, grabbed the can of ice cold tea and pushed the cold wet metal can against the backs of her thighs.

"AIEEEEEEE!" Like a startled cat, Kyou sprang up from her position and was now crouched on top of the ventilation duct. Her body was poised like a predator about to pounce on its prey and her expression was equally murderous. Incredulously, Tomoya was still sitting there with a devilish grin and holding a can out to her.

"Tea?" he asked.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Kyou screamed at him.

"I just granted your wish." He smiled at her.

"Tomoya..." Kyou wanted to be furious with him. But there was something different now. The mischievous sparkle in his eyes had always been there, but it looked different to her now. With those eyes combined with that smile... Oh, that smile. She had seen it so many times. For a moment, he would be reveling in the beauty of a successful prank, then the smile would turn to shock as she would descend on him to mete out justice or revenge. She had seen that look on his face so many times in her second year. Why did it have to look so different to her now? Why did her heart beat a little stronger and a little faster when she saw that look now? Kyou wanted to be furious with him, but she couldn't.

"Kyou?" Tomoya couldn't read her now. Her expression went from rage to something strange like she was having a seizure. "Are you okay?"

"Hahahahahaha!" Kyou clutched at her sides as she laughed harder than she had in quite some time. "Granted my wish!" she gasped aloud, and laughed a bit more as she climbed down off the ventilation duct.

"Okay Okazaki," she laughed as she admitted, "You got me good. Yeah, I walked right into that one!"

"Kyou, stop!" Tomoya's knuckles were almost white where he was clutching the can of tea.

"Eh?" Kyou took a step back.

"I don't need this." Tomoya looked right into her eyes, but she couldn't hold his gaze and looked down at the rooftop. "I don't need a fake Kyou, or an acting Kyou, or a pretend Kyou. I need the real Kyou right here, right now, to tell me..."

"To tell you what?" Kyou asked without looking up.

"To tell me why you're broken so I can fix you!" Tomoya yelled at her.

"You can't fix everything!" Kyou yelled back at him. "You can't fix me!" She started to run past him for the doorway to the stairs but he caught her arm and clung to it.

Tomoya had planned to say something when he grabbed her but his mind was temporarily blank. Or… not quite blank but covered in snow. There was something in front of him. He couldn't figure out what it was but it was broken and he was at a loss. A soft voice from behind him told him that he couldn't fix everything. He knew he couldn't fix this thing, but he would do his best. As suddenly as he saw the vision, he was looking at Kyou again.

"Tomoya?" She was looking into his face now and she looked frightened, "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay." without releasing her arm, he told her, "You are my friend – and I don't have many of those. So when one of my friends is in pain, I am in pain. Do you get that, Kyou?"

"Let me go!" she struggled to pull away but he pulled back even harder and she found herself wrapped up in his arms with no chance of escape now. Through anguished tears she yelled at him, "You can't do this, it's too dangerous! I'm too dangerous! I hurt people! I almost killed the only guy I ever loved..."

Just inside the door to the roof, Youhei, Kotomi, Nagisa, and Ryou were listening to the parts of the conversation they could hear through the thick access door. Considering how much of the recent conversation consisted of yelling, they were hearing most of it.

"Ah!" Ryou gasped. She and Nagisa looked at Kotomi to see if she was okay.

"That, I believe, was a..." Youhei stopped talking and also looked at Kotomi.

"Confession." Kotomi finished his sentence. She looked at the three faces looking back at her. Misreading their concern for confusion, she explained, "It is okay. This outcome was well within the prediction margins." Kotomi was perplexed more by the new expressions on her friends faces than she was by what she had heard Kyou say.

Kyou was no longer struggling. Tomoya's arms were still wrapped around her and she was still crying. The big idiot was holding her and letting her cry it out, but what if Kotomi saw them like this. Kyou didn't want to get Tomoya in trouble with his girlfriend and she didn't want to have to face her friends and explain yet another embarrassing incident.

"Kyou-chan." Kotomi's voice made Kyou's eyes snap open to see the concerned purple eyes of her brilliant friend only inches away.

"Eh!" Kyou was horrified. She knew she needed to get away from Tomoya's arms now but she couldn't move a muscle as she stared back into Kotomi's eyes.

"Kyou-chan, when you finish crying, Tomoya-kun is going to let go of you." Kotomi spoke as if explaining the rules of a game to a child, "When he does, I hope that you will not run away from us."

"Us?"

"Yes," Kotomi took a step back and Kyou could now see that Youhei, Nagisa, and even her sister were there as well. She paled as she realized what they had all probably heard. "I'm okay now… I won't run."

Releasing Kyou, Tomoya leaned back heavily into the ventilation duct and clutched at his right shoulder.

"Okazaki-san!" Nagisa and Ryou gasped together. Turning back to him Kyou saw the pained expression on his face.

"Tomoya!" she started to take a step toward him but Youhei had her by the arm.

"Ryou-chan," Kotomi called out to Kyou's sister as she held out three notebook sized packages with first-aid symbols on them, "do you know what to do with these?"

"Yes!" Ryou answered after only a brief look at the packages. Taking the packages from Kotomi, she called out to Nagisa, "Nagisa-chan, help me take his shirt off." Nagisa and Kyou blushed a little but when it came to first-aid, they had all learned to trust Ryou.

"Watch your sister," Youhei said quietly to Kyou. His words had interrupted her grief spiral as she thought that she had once again hurt Tomoya without thinking. Instead, she did as Youhei asked and watched Nagisa and Ryou unbutton and remove Tomoya's shirt. Nagisa handed the tie and shirt over to Kotomi as Ryou started moving Tomoya's right arm.

"What is she doing?" Kyou had to be honest with herself and really didn't mind watching Tomoya's shirt come off, but she wondered what her sister was up to.

"You tell me." Youhei shrugged.

"Some first-aid medical stuff I guess," Kyou spoke quietly back to Youhei, "she has always had an interest in that stuff. She wants to be a nurse or a doctor some day."

"Just like you?" Youhei asked.

"No," Kyou said sadly, "my dream was to be a kindergarten teacher."

"So she learned this stuff on her own?" Youhei asked.

"Yes." Kyou answered as she watched her sister open up one of the packages and peel some more things away – then stick them on Tomoya's shoulder blade.

"She learned all that... without you?" Youhei asked more pointedly. Kyou turned sharply to look at him to see if he was making fun of her, but the question seemed innocent.

"Yes," Kyou admitted grudgingly.

"Not all of it… look at her confidence." Youhei pointed out, "Fujibayashi is so sure of herself, Nagisa completely trusts her. If Fujibayashi says to do it, Nagisa will help undress Okazaki even though she is embarrassed."

"Yeah, so?" Kyou was starting to get a sneaking suspicion that Youhei was setting her up for some kind of joke or prank again.

"That is all you." Youhei whispered just loud enough for Kyou to hear.

"Eh?" That comment had taken Kyou by surprise. Kyou's eyes opened wide in shock at Youhei's comment.

"Jumping in to do what needs to be done. The confidence that inspires other people to believe in you." Youhei was speaking barely above a whisper as they watched Ryou put another sticky patch on Tomoya's chest and shoulder.

"Um..." Kyou was stunned. She didn't think Youhei was capable of words like that and she never thought he would say something that nice to her.

"You needed to hear that." Youhei told her. For a few minutes they watched as Tomoya's pain lessened and Kotomi stepped forward to help her boyfriend put his shirt back on.

"Thank you very much." Kyou said quietly.

"Now you need to hear this," he continued quietly, but with a bit of a smirk, "I will never admit to saying that. If anybody asks, I think you are an insufferable braggart with a prima donna complex."

"I..." Kyou's mouth twisted as she looked at Youhei and considered her response. In the end, it was Youhei after all so she smiled and returned the barb, "I'm actually impressed. I didn't know you knew difficult words, much less - how to use them."

"Kyou!" Both hers and Youhei's thoughts were interrupted by Tomoya calling to her.

"Yes!" Kyou was suddenly embarrassed at how readily she answered him.

"I need to ask you a favor." He seemed very serious.

"Yes?" her reply was more reserved and some of the blush was wearing off. Although, the blush threatened to deepen again as she acknowledged the truth; if he but asked she would do anything for Tomoya.

"Will you play basketball with Youhei and me in the game on Saturday?" Tomoya asked.

"What?" she blinked her eyes wide open.

"Of all of us in the Drama Club, the three of us are the most athletic." He explained.

"Um… I guess that's true," she looked over at Ryou, Nagisa, and Kotomi and knew it to be the case, "but I've never played basketball before."

"What?" Tomoya gasped as he stood up and approached Kyou, "You've never dribbled or..."

"Oh, I've dribbled and thrown the ball through the hoop, but I've never played a proper game before."

"Ah," Tomoya smiled, "in that case, for the rest of the week, can you bring Youhei to the gym with you an hour before school starts for practice?"

"Hey!" Youhei shouted in objection. Kyou had been about to refuse but she still owed Youhei a barb.

"Sure," she smiled, "It'll be fun!"

"Now just a minute!" Youhei was ready to settle in for a long argument.

"What's wrong, Sunohara-san?" Kotomi asked the fuming blond, "Was this not all your idea?"

"Well," Youhei couldn't argue that. To be honest, Youhei knew he would need at least a little practice if they were going to face the basketball team on their own game. "Okay, I'll do it."

Tomoya was a bit stunned at how easily Youhei gave in. He looked at his girlfriend in wonder. Before they went up to the roof, he didn't think there was a chance in hell that Youhei would agree to coming up to the school early. She turned to him and smiled. He could see the sunlight sparkle in her bright eyes and again wondered how he could possibly be the boyfriend of someone so beautiful and so smart. Even as he pondered his luck, she took his hand and squeezed it firmly.

Twelve moves ahead, indeed.

.

 **Friday afternoon, May 16 - High School entrance**

* * *

Youhei had slipped away from the group as soon as they were all down from the roof. Things were more comfortable with the friends now, but he wanted to hang out with Yukine in the resource room for a while before going home for the night. Both Kotomi and Tomoya had left for the Ichinose house to get in their nightly tutoring. So it was Kyou, Ryou, and Nagisa that encountered the short, steel-blue haired girl with the light brown – almost golden eyes. She was walking toward the school entrance with a pull-along suitcase when she heard something that stopped her in her tracks.

"Excuse me," she asked the three high school girls that were passing her on their way out, "did you just mention Sunohara Youhei? Do you know him?"

"Yes," Nagisa sounded helpful as she responded, "we know him. Can I help you?"

"Yes!" The girl smiled broadly, "I'm here to visit him. I'm his little sister Mei!" She continued to smile as the three high school girls wore expressions of disbelief and shock.

After getting over the shock that someone as polite and cute as Mei could be Sunohara's sister, the girls decided to walk Mei to where her brother lived. Along the way, they all chatted and the girls learned that Mei was concerned about her big brother. Knowing Youhei as well as they did, it was difficult for any of them to tell the little girl that her concerns were unwarranted.

Thirty minutes later, they were at Youhei's dorm. Misae recognized Kyou and waved at the quartet of girls as they headed for Youhei's room. "Hey, Fujibayashi-san!" Misae called out to Kyou.

"Yes?" both Kyou and Ryou replied.

"Ah!" Misae took a step back as she realized the girl with the shorter but same colored hair was Kyou's sister. "Oh… um?"

"We are twin sisters, Sagara-san." Kyou explained, "To avoid confusion, please call me Kyou-chan."

"Oh!" Misae nodded, "Thank you Kyou-chan!"

"Sagara Misae is the dorm mother here," Kyou explained to the other girls, "and this is my sister Ryou-chan, our friend Nagisa-chan, and Sunohara-san's little sister, Mei-chan."

"Sunohara's little sister?" Misae looked at the cute girl but was having a hard time finding the family resemblance. "Oh… I was going to tell you that he isn't back yet. But… since you are his sister, I guess you can wait in his room for a bit."

"Thank you very much, Sagara-san!" Mei smiled and made a polite bow.

"You weren't planning on staying the night here, were you?" Misae asked after seeing the suitcase Mei was pulling along behind her. "I know you are his sister, but this is a boys dormitory."

"Don't worry about that," Kyou said confidently, "she can stay with one of us."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Misae felt quite relieved, "Well, here is his room." She said as she opened the door for them.

"My goodness what a mess!" Mei cried out as she saw the state of her brother's dorm room. Then looking at the wall, she asked aloud the question that all the other girls in the room were also wondering, "Who is Fuko?"


	8. Chapter 8 - Almost Made It

**Saturday afternoon, May 17 - Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

"Fuko," Youhei asked cautiously, "you're okay with this aren't you?" They were walking hand in hand down the dark streets and Youhei could feel the firm grip on his hand from the diminutive girl at the same time that he felt a reluctance from her to be holding his hand at all.

"Yes!" a firm reply came back, "Fuko wants to do this very much!"

"Okay," Youhei sighed then told her, "you just don't seem to want to be..."

"Fuko is sorry." her attitude almost completely changed with those words. Then it changed to one of mild disgust as she said, "Fuko can't stop thinking that you are a sort-of weird guy."

"Hey!" Youhei objected.

"But," she said thoughtfully now, "Fuko also believes Yukine-chan is right about you, so Fuko will trust in that."

"All right," Youhei came to a stop. Looking half a block ahead, they could see the sign for the Furukawa Bakery. "Remember to keep holding my hand, no matter what happens. And don't be too upset if we can't get Nagisa to see you."

"Fuko understands," she said somberly, "Fuko wants to talk with Nagisa-chan and Tomoya-kun again so very much."

"Okay, here it goes." Youhei led the small girl toward the bakery entrance.

"Welcome!" Sanae called out as she heard someone enter the bakery. As it was late, she was cleaning up and was about to close the store for the night. She had just cleaned off a silver display tray and could see the reflection of two people at the bakery entrance. They looked as if they were wearing the school uniforms of her daughter's school. Standing up and putting the tray down, she saw that there was only one person there.

"Hello, I am Sunohara..." Youhei was introducing himself but Sanae cut him off.

"Youhei!" she said cheerfully, "You are Tomoya and Nagisa's friend. I met you at the birthday party for Kotomi-chan."

"Ah yes," Youhei remembered then, "and you are Nagisa's sister Sanae-chan?" Sanae was about to thank him for the compliment when his head snapped around to the left and he gasped out, "What?!" Then, looking back to Sanae he said, "You are Nagisa's mother? My apologies, Sanae-san."

"No, that's quite all right." Sanae was flattered by the mistake, but she was a bit concerned about Youhei's strange behavior, "is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, thank you." Youhei seemed to be mentally stumbling, "We wanted… I mean I wanted to see Nagisa about… something." He knew that came out sounding pretty sketchy and added, "It's about an old friend."

"I see," Sanae was more concerned now than before. Youhei definitely seemed like he was up to something. Then she remembered Kyou's description of Tomoya and Youhei from the previous year and how they were both annoying pranksters. Maybe that was all this was. "Well, I'm afraid she isn't back yet." Sanae picked out a few of the pastries she had experimented with earlier that day and made a plate for Youhei and said, "You can enjoy some of my special pastries while you wait! I'll get some tea."

"Sanae-san," Youhei was about to take a bite of an innocent looking crème filled pastry when he stopped and asked, "do you remember Ibuki Fuko?"

Suddenly, several things happened at the same time.

Youhei bit into the pastry as Sanae spun around to face him.

"No, Sunohara-san!" Nagisa cried out from the doorway of the bakery but was too late to stop him from biting into the pastry.

"I know that name!" Sanae spun to see Youhei's eyes rolling up and his body becoming slack as the uneaten half of the pastry fell away from his mouth. For a moment, as if it were only from her peripheral vision, she could swear there was a girl next to Youhei… but then she was gone.

"No!" Fuko cried out as Youhei's limp body collapsed where he stood and their hands separated. She tried to catch Youhei's falling body but she was too slow. She watched horrified as the back of his head smacked the cold tile floor of the bakery. Fuko watched as her dear friend Nagisa and a girl with short lavender hair ran through the bakery to Youhei's fallen form.

"Ryou-chan," Nagisa called out even before she got to Youhei, "what should we do?"

"What did you see?" Ryou asked as she followed Nagisa into the store.

"His head hit the floor pretty hard." Nagisa replied. She was looking down at Youhei on the floor now so she could clearly see the remains of one of her mothers pastries on his lips, "And… it looks like..."

"He ate one of Sanae's pastries." Akio's deep voice saved Nagisa from having to say the words, but the effect was the same. Crying, Sanae ran from the store. Akio was about to give chase but stopped and looked at the two girls hovering over the unconscious boy and asked, "You got this?"

Nagisa turned to Ryou.

"Yes!" Ryou answered. She turned to Nagisa as Akio ran out the door after his wife. "We need to check for bleeding." For the next several minutes, Ryou led Nagisa through the first aid steps for a concussion but it seemed that Youhei was intact.

"I'm a little surprised that we aren't finding anything." Ryou was beginning to think that perhaps she wasn't doing it right.

"This might be normal for Sunohara-san," Nagisa offered, "I remember Okazaki telling me that Sunohara could take a surprising amount of damage, and be fine the next day."

"I guess," Ryou's concern was still evident but she smiled when Youhei moved on his own and appeared to be waking up.

"What?" Youhei looked up from the floor and saw three girls looking down at him. He blinked his eyes and now there were only two girls. "Huh?"

"Youhei, do you know who we are?" Ryou asked.

"Nagisa-chan and Fujibayashi-chan." He answered as he tried to get up. He stopped though when he realized Ryou was holding him down.

"Please," Ryou asked him, "not just yet. Do you know where you are?"

"I'm on the floor." Youhei deadpanned. Nagisa giggled and Ryou sighed.

"Very funny." Ryou smiled, "you know what I mean."

"Um..." he looked around and could see that he was in a shop of some kind but he didn't recognize the place. Then again, he rarely went into a store and lay down on the floor to see what the place looked like from that angle. "No… not really."

"Do you remember why you are here?" Ryou was watching his eyes as he answered her questions.

"If I don't know where I am, how am I supposed to know why I'm here?" Youhei was beginning to sound irritated, "Can I get up now?"

"Okay," Ryou decided, "but get up slowly. You may be a bit dizzy."

Youhei did as instructed and was soon standing. He looked around but was still at a loss as to where he was or why he was here.

"Do you remember what you are supposed to be doing tomorrow morning?" Ryou asked Youhei. She was still concerned about a possible concussion but other than not knowing where he was or why he was there, he wasn't showing any other signs. This was very confusing and not at all like the book described it.

"Yeah," Youhei answered, "Kyou is picking me up early and we are going to practice basketball for the game on Saturday."

"Um..." Nagisa was holding the half eaten remains of her mother's experimental pastry up for them both to see. She blushed as she apologetically said, "it could be that the memory loss isn't related to the fall." Ryou looked relieved that the complicated symptoms and results now made more sense, but Youhei looked more confused.

"So, where am I?" he asked.

"You are at the Furukawa Bakery!" Nagisa answered cheerfully while moving her hand to hide the remains of the pastry behind her back.

"Wait a minute." Youhei asked as he looked at Ryou, "Where is Kyou?"

"She's at home." Ryou answered.

"Then, why are you here?"

"I'm staying the night with Nagisa," Ryou also sounded cheerful now, "Kyou has..." Both of the girls stopped and looked at each other. Ryou had almost revealed the surprise. After cleaning her brother's room, Mei had told them all that she really wanted to surprise her big brother in the morning when she and Kyou would arrive to take him to school.

"Kyou-chan has an out-of-town guest staying over tonight." Nagisa told Youhei. She blushed a little at the deception, but nothing she said was a lie.

"Out-of-town guest eh?" Youhei got a sly look on his face, "Is she cute?"

"Yes!" Nagisa said, "I think she is very cute."

"Yes!" Ryou chimed in, "I think so too!

"Ah ha!" Youhei seemed to be on to something, or at least he thought he was. "I bet Kyou will be bringing this guest along in the morning! I need to get some good sleep tonight so I am at my most charming in the morning, eh?"

"Um, yeah..." Nagisa looked at Ryou for support but Ryou was also perplexed. They were still wondering if they should have cleared up his confusion several minutes after he had left the bakery in a hurry to get back to the dorm.

"Surely," Ryou offered, "he'll figure it out when he gets back to the dorms and finds out someone cleaned his room."

"Oh," Nagisa jumped, "We forgot to ask about Fuko!"

"Fuko?"

"Yes!" Nagisa reminded her friend, "We were going to ask him about the sign on the wall that said to remember Fuko."

"Oh right! Well, I guess we can ask him tomorrow." Ryou was feeling tired now and looking forward to bath and bed. "Nagisa-chan, have you finished your homework?"

"I have a little English left, but all the rest is done." Nagisa retrieved their book bags from where they had dropped them near the entrance to the shop.

"I can help you with the English," Ryou offered, "I'm not as good as Kotomi, but I understood all the homework."

"Yes, that would be nice." Nagisa smiled.

On Nagisa's way back through the shop Ryou put out her hand expecting her friend to hand over her book bag. Nagisa smiled and took the hand in hers and pulled her lavender haired friend toward the entrance to the living quarters. Ryou looked down at where Nagisa had taken her hand and blushed. Nagisa's delicate fingers wrapped her hand in a gentle, if not firm hold. Ryou felt a flush of heat through her body as she reveled in the exquisite contact with Nagisa's hand. She closed her eyes and closed her hand around Nagisa's as they walked through the house to Nagisa's room. When they came to a stop, Ryou opened her eyes but she held onto Nagisa's hand for a little bit longer.

"Nagisa-chan..." Ryou blushed, "there is something I want to tell you."

"Yes?" Nagisa looked back at her friend with her big light brown eyes full innocence.

"Well, you see..." Ryou started but she couldn't get the words to come out. Nagisa was right in front of her with her pretty chestnut hair, her cute face, and her caring eyes. Her small pink lips were in a half smile as she waited for Ryou's next words. Ryou wanted to confess her feelings more than anything. She wanted Nagisa to know how magical and wonderful her life was whenever Nagisa was with her. Ryou started to blush as she realized that she wanted to hold and be held and she wondered what a kiss might be like…

"Ryou," Nagisa seemed concerned now, "is everything okay?"

"Oh!" Ryou was suddenly terrified that it could all go terribly wrong. What would she do if Nagisa refused? "I think that… we should do the homework first. After the bath I will probably be too tired to concentrate."

"Okay!" Nagisa agreed. Nagisa felt like there was something else bothering Ryou, but with all that she was going through with Kyou, it just didn't feel right to pry. Nagisa promised herself that she would be there for her best friend whenever she did need to talk though.

.

 **Saturday evening, May 17 - Ichinose House**

* * *

The Ichinose house was quiet except for some background music. The hanging lights were on over the table where Kotomi and Tomoya were now in the habit of studying. They illuminated the two as they poured over their respective subjects. Tomoya's sharp eyes darted between the textbook and two sets of notes, some in Kotomi's precise handwriting, and some in his own chicken scratch. Sometimes the knowledge flowed into his brain and at other times, like now, he had to attack the subject head on. Such was his focus on the difficult subject now, that he did not notice Kotomi watching him. His classmates would not believe this scene if they saw it with their own eyes.

Kotomi glanced up at Tomoya as he erased and rewrote part of an equation. His studious countenance was a beautiful sight in her eyes, but she also knew he was struggling. If he did not figure it out soon, this handsome look would turn into a sneer with angry eyes and clenched teeth. She had seen that look on Tomoya only a few times and it was frightening. But, she had to admit, it was effective… sometimes. After getting to that point, Tomoya would usually have a breakthrough – but a few times he would storm off in anger and frustration. She remembered the first time she had witnessed that side of him. It had taken Tomoya an hour of apologizing and pleading before Kotomi finally came out of the locked bathroom. She had tried to show him breathing techniques and other relaxation methods. He thanked her and told her that it did help him get to sleep at night but nothing seemed to help with this study anxiety. Perhaps it was time to try something different.

"Tomoya-kun." Kotomi called out to him as she set aside her book.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya looked up into Kotomi's sparkling purple eyes.

"You seem to be getting agitated." She observed as she got up from her chair and moved around the table towards Tomoya, "I believe it is time to attempt another kind of relaxation or calming technique."

"Ah, well..." Tomoya understood Kotomi's need to try these techniques on him whenever he started showing signs of getting stressed. He remembered how much he had scared her that first time he lost it. But it was such a time waster. He knew he was working with impossible deadlines and these techniques could never seem to displace the tension in his mind when he knew he would be diving right back into it when the exercise was over. But he would do this for Kotomi if it would make her feel better, "Okay, I'm ready. What do I need to do?"

"Push your chair back away from the table a bit." she told him. The chair and table were western style furniture and made to be quite sturdy and comfortable for dining room chairs.

"Like this?" he asked after moving back about half a meter.

"A bit more." she waited until there was room between the table and the chair. Then she moved into that space and looked at him.

He was still wearing the school uniform he had arrived in. Tomoya was also looking at Kotomi. She had changed when she got home and was wearing a floral patterned knee length sun dress. "It is so beautiful on her."

"What is?" Kotomi asked.

"What is what?" Tomoya asked back.

"You said _it is_ _so_ _beautiful on her_." Kotomi told him.

"Eh?" Tomoya panicked a little and blushed a little more, "I said that out loud? I meant that the dress you are wearing is beautiful on you."

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi smiled as she crawled up into his lap and sat facing him.

"Um, Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya was about to protest but Kotomi's finger touched his lips.

"Shhhh." she put her hands on his shoulders and told him, "It is time for me to help you forget about studying for a while." She kissed him just like the way she studied and, for that matter, the way she did everything else in life. Nothing was ever halfhearted or partial effort with her. It was always everything, or nothing at all. All or none. If it was a kiss that she was after, there would be no peck on the cheek to get started. There would be no gentle touch of the lips while working up to the kiss. One moment, she was looking into his eyes and the next, her mouth was glued to his and her tongue was dancing with his. Her arms were around his neck as his arms circled her and pulled her in close. In moments, their bodies were crushed to each other. Tomoya could feel Kotomi's full breasts smashed against his chest. Again, she stretched herself up his body and presented her neck to him.

Tomoya turned Kotomi's head so he could kiss her behind the ear. She whimpered whenever he did that and she would tremble if he followed it up with nibbling on her ear. He did. She did. Her body writhed in his lap and she moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair. Grasping a handful of her hair, he pulled her head to the side and ran his teeth down her neck to the collarbone where he kissed her again.

It was a good thing the house was well soundproofed. Kotomi's scream could be heard in the back yard, but not much further than that.

.

 **Saturday evening, May 17 - Male Student Dormitory**

* * *

"What the?" Youhei was genuinely confused. Why was his room cleaned up and what was with the message on the wall that said to remember Fuko? He was about to investigate the sign but stopped after taking only a single step toward the wall. For some reason, it seemed like he had already done that.

Youhei thought about the sign while undressing and getting ready for bed. He was remembering more but for some reason it was hard. As he threw back the sheets, he remembered the ink and the pen in the box. He was certain now that he had made the sign, but why? And why couldn't he remember doing it? It was something he would have to ask Yukine tomorrow. She was good at helping him find answers and solve mysteries. He really liked that about her even though she was a mystery herself. Come to think of it, he liked that about her too. He shut his eyes and remembered being in her resource room the other day. At first he thought she was frustrating the way she wouldn't give him a straight answer but helped him to remember Fuko on his own.

Fuko. Ibuki Fuko. Fu-chan. Starfish. Visiting Nagisa…

"Oh no," Youhei sighed as he realized his failure, "Fuko, are you here?"

"Yes." Fuko then said rapidly, "Please don't hate Fuko! Fuko is not trying to be weird! Fuko followed you back from the bakery! Fuko is not a stalker… Fuko just… doesn't know where else to go."

"Fu-chan," Youhei told her, "I was worried that you were mad at me. I understand if you are."

"No!" Fuko answered quickly, "Fuko knows that you tried. You tried to make Fuko happy and that made Fuko very happy!"

"I'm glad it made you happy, but I'm not giving up!" Youhei swore, "One way or another, I am going to get you to Nagisa or get Nagisa to you!

"Oh," Fuko was startled but very happy at Youhei's oath, "Thank you very much!"

"Hey, Fu-chan do you want to stay here tonight?"

"Pervert!" Fuko shrieked.

"No no no no!" Youhei explained, "I don't mean anything like that. It's just… I felt bad when you said you didn't know where else to go."

"Oh," Fuko sounded genuinely apologetic, "Fuko needs to remember that you are a nice guy too. Not just a weird guy."

"But I'm still a weird guy, eh?" Youhei asked.

"Yes," Fuko answered, "but just your hair."

"So, the rest of me is nice then?" Youhei taunted her.

"..." Fuko was looking down at her hands when she answered, "yes." Fuko looked around at Youhei's room but there was not much to see in the dark, "Youhei-kun, is there someone you like?"

Youhei was partially asleep when the question was asked so he didn't speak an answer but he felt the question lead him to a stormy dream. He dreamed of Yukine and Fuko with him on a picnic. They laid out lots of serving trays and seemed to be enjoying a feast, but he couldn't see any food on the trays. The three of them were just starting to relax on the side of a grassy hill when Kyou came to take him away on her motorbike. For some reason he had to ride on the handlebars and they kept running through swarms of large juicy bugs. Tomoyo showed up and made her claim by kicking him through a soccer goal where he landed safe in his bed. His bed was safe for the moment but it was starting to toss and turn like a small boat on the sea when the waves start to get unruly. In the midst of this building oceanic tempest, mermaids started crawling out of the sea and trying to crawl up on his bed to get him. The mermaids looked like Yukine, Fuko, Kyou, and Tomoyo. They were calling their siren call. Calling his name. One made it onto the bed and turning, he saw that it was his little sister Mei. Her smiling face called out to him.

"Onii-chan!" Mei called out to her sleeping brother.

"Wha..." Youhei's eyes sprang open to see his sister's face mere inches away. He was about to scream when a hand slammed down over his mouth.

"Quiet." Kyou told him, "It's really early and we don't have time to wait for the rugby team to finish beating you up this morning."

.

 **Sunday morning, May 18 - Furukawa Residence**

* * *

Nagisa woke up feeling more comfortable than usual. Her pillow was warm and soft and smelled nice. In fact, it smelled like… Ryou? Without moving, Nagisa opened her eyes and realized that her head was resting comfortably on Ryou's chest. There was a moment of confusion since she remembered going to bed in different futons but now they were both in hers. But they weren't just sleeping in the same futon. They were snuggled up together! Nagisa was on her side with an arm and a leg over Ryou's body in addition to having her head on Ryou's chest. Ryou had an arm wrapped around Nagisa and seemed to still be sleeping. Nagisa was starting to feel a bit of panic. She was concerned that her friend would wake up and be terribly embarrassed at finding themselves in this position.

Lifting her head as carefully as possible, Nagisa was able to see Ryou's face and could tell that she was still asleep. Again, moving slowly and carefully, Nagisa tried to get up without waking Ryou. Unfortunately, she only made it a few millimeters when Ryou's arm pulled Nagisa back down and reflexively tried to pat down the restlessness.

"Um, Ryou?" Nagisa said in a whisper, Ryou it's Nagisa."

Nagisa could see that Ryou was smiling now but still appeared asleep.

"Ryou, it's Nagisa..." she tried again, "I need to get up."

"Nagisa..." Ryou repeated drowsily.

"Yes, it's Nagisa..." Nagisa was going to try once more to get Ryou to let go before resorting to waking her friend up.

"I love Nagisa." Ryou mumbled in her slumber.

"Eh?" Nagisa's eyes were open wide now and she wondered if she really heard what she thought she just heard. Part of her wanted to wake Ryou up right now and demand an explanation. Part of her wanted to pull away and forget hearing anything. And another part of her wanted to put her head back down on Ryou's chest and go back to sleep. It would, of course, be the part of her with the full bladder that would win.

Nagisa spent much longer in the bathroom than she needed to. She was thinking about what she had heard Ryou say. Was it real? Was it just silly sleep talk? Why did it make her feel warm and feel like her heart was fluttering when she thought it might be real? The thought that it might be real made her confront her own feelings for Ryou. She liked being with Ryou. A day didn't go by that the two of them didn't talk or chat. She longed to do things with Ryou like shopping or seeing a movie together or just spending time together doing anything at all. But was that love? Was that the same thing that Ryou felt for her or was it different?

Maybe it wasn't love? But then why did she want so badly to crawl back into Ryou's embrace and go back to sleep? Was that love? These were the questions still circling through Nagisa's head when she opened the door to the bathroom and found Ryou standing there with a terrified look on her face.

"Nagisa-chan," Ryou's hands came up to cover her mouth and it looked like tears might come at any moment, "did I do something wrong?"

"No," Nagisa reached for Ryou's trembling hands and pulled them back down, "what makes you think that?"

"Well… I woke up in your futon and you weren't there and you were gone for a long time and I was afraid…"

"You said something in your sleep that made me think." Nagisa smiled as she told her.

"What… in my sleep," Ryou looked like she could panic, "what did I say?"

"You said you love me." Nagisa said it as kindly as she could.

"Ah!" Ryou squeaked.

"I hope it wasn't just a dream," Nagisa blushed, "because I think I love you too."


	9. Chapter 9 - Mei's Logic

**Monday afternoon, May 19 - Resource Room**

* * *

Youhei looked around the familiar resource room, but saw only Miyazawa Yukine there. He had expected to see Kotomi and Tomoya studying at one of the tables in the front of the room, but they were conspicuously absent. Also absent was the short girl with the starfish fixation. Satisfied that no-one was hiding in a corner, his eyes fell back on the slender blue eyed, brown haired keeper of this room.

"Yu-chan," Youhei asked just to be sure, "we are all alone now?"

"Yu-chan, eh?" Yukine smiled as she prepared a coffee the way she knew Youhei liked it, "so I take it you are remembering things better now?"

"Yeah," Youhei sat down and looked at his hands, "I kinda wanted to talk to you about that."

"You can speak freely," Yukine passed him the cup and saucer with a napkin and answered his first question, "we are indeed alone."

"I wasn't able to get her to Nagisa..." he focused to remember the details.

"Oh?" Yukine sat down with her own coffee and waited for Youhei to get his thoughts together.

"It wasn't Nagisa's fault..." he rambled out the events as best as he could remember them, "We made it to the bakery but… Apparently I passed out after eating some bad bread and couldn't remember Fuko or why I was at the Furukawa Bakery… when I woke up."

"So, how is it that you remember her now?" Yukine was curious.

"I think it's that note I put on the wall of my room." Youhei went back to recounting the events of the end of night, "I remembered her after I read the note and she was in my room. The lights were off and I was already in bed so I talked to her but I couldn't see her. And..."

"And?" Yukine prodded. She could see that Youhei wanted to talk about something. Whether it was of a revelation nature or just something he wanted to get off his chest, she couldn't tell.

"I think..." Youhei concentrated on the memory of what happened right as he was going to sleep. He wanted to make sure he wasn't confusing real world and dream world. "I think Fuko may like me."

"Eh?" Yukine's eyes opened wide at these words. This was unexpected.

"I mean," Youhei related the final events of the night, "she asked me if there is anyone that I like."

"And… what did you tell her?" Yukine asked as calmly as she could, knowing full well that she might not like Youhei's answer.

"I didn't," Youhei admitted, "I fell asleep as she was asking the question. And since then, I haven't seen her anywhere."

"I'm sure Fuko is okay..." Youhei started to console Yukine but his anguish boiled up.

"She might think I blew her off!" Youhei looked genuinely concerned, "She might be really pissed off at me… or off somewhere crying!"

"So, you do like her?" Yukine steeled herself for his answer.

"No… well yeah… but not like that." Youhei rambled.

"Oh?" Beneath her calm composure, Yukine was about ready to strangle him, if that's what it took to get a straight answer.

"I've been thinking of Fuko a lot recently and trying to figure out just how I really feel about her and..." Youhei let the sentence trail off. He took a sip of the coffee and his eyes opened wide as he had a moment of clarity. Excitedly, he told Yukine "My little sister showed up this morning to visit me."

"Um..." Yukine was lost at this sudden apparent topic change and really wanted to clear things up with the previous topic. But, looking at Youhei's expression she could see that he really needed to get this out… whatever it was.

"When I saw my sister, I realized that's how I feel about Fuko!" Youhei was clearly excited about his personal breakthrough, "I know she is really the same age as me but I can't help it. I love her like a little sister. Like I love my own little sister."

"I see," Yukine was somewhat relieved, "I don't know if Fuko will like that answer though."

"Yeah," Youhei thought about it, "probably not." After all, what girl would like to hear a guy tell her that he thinks of her as a little sister after confessing to him.

"Probably not for the reason you are thinking," Yukine grimaced, "She thinks of herself as being mature so she will not like the idea of someone her own age thinking of her as a younger sibling."

"Oh yeah..." Youhei went back to looking troubled. As he stared into his coffee, he said "Great, so now I'm back to not knowing what answer to give her if she asks."

"If she asks if there is anyone that you like?" Yukine clarified the question he was worried about.

"Yeah." Youhei confirmed.

"Well, is there?" Yukine asked innocently.

"Is there what?" Youhei looked up at Yukine as he asked her what she meant.

"Is there someone you like?" Yukine looked into his blue eyes as she asked him.

"Yeah," Youhei held her gaze but blushed as he answered, "yeah there is."

"Have you told her yet?" Yukine was again asking questions that she was afraid to hear the answers to.

"No," Youhei looked back down at his coffee and told her, "she is a really nice girl and … it's probably best if she didn't have anything to do with a guy like me."

"I see," Yukine looked at her own coffee. She was about to tell him that she couldn't agree with his reason and that she thought he was a good person... Looking back up at Youhei she could see that this conversation was a strain for him. As much as she wanted to know where his heart was, she decided to change the mood by changing the conversation. Smiling again, she asked Youhei, "How did the basketball practice go this morning?"

It was clear that Yukine had chosen the right topic to change the conversation to. Youhei became quite animated as he told Yukine all about the early morning practice and how he and Kyou did much better than either of them had expected.

.

 **Monday afternoon, May 19 - Ichinose House**

* * *

"Tomoya-kun." Kotomi started a conversation in her usual way as they walked to her house from the school.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya smiled as he responded in his usual way. They had been quietly walking hand in hand for some time and Tomoya could tell that his girlfriend was trying to figure something out. From experience, he knew that this was either a complicated science or math problem – or it was an interpersonal problem. If it was math or science, Kotomi would figure it out then start a conversation by asking him how his day went. If it was an interpersonal problem, she would eventually ask him for help with it. In either case, he was completely unprepared for the question Kotomi asked next.

"Do you think Kyou-chan is attractive?"

"What?" Tomoya stumbled a bit.

"I don't mean objectively," Kotomi explained her question, "I want to know if you personally find Kyou to be attractive."

"Um… yeah." Tomoya felt embarrassed with this topic but knew that it would distress Kotomi more if he said he didn't want to talk about it than it would to tell her the truth.

"Can you quantify it for me?" Kotomi looked up to him and he could see that she really needed him to answer her questions for whatever she was struggling with.

"Quantify?" Tomoya knew what she meant but was trying to stall for a little time.

"Tell me what it is about her that makes you attracted to her." Kotomi explained.

"Ah… well," Tomoya thought for a moment and decided to keep playing the honesty card. It was always the best bet with Kotomi anyway. "Let's see… Long hair, purple eyes, I like her… um… curvy build, she's smart, she's a good cook..." he trailed off.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi commented, "you just described me."

"Oh?" Tomoya winced as he realized that was true. "You are curvier and smarter though."

"And that is a good thing?" Kotomi asked as she looked up into his eyes.

"To me, it is a very good thing." Tomoya smiled. Then he added, "Also, there is something about you that makes me want to be the best me I can be."

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi smiled, "Can you tell me of something that you like about Kyou. Something that she is better than me or something that I am completely lacking?"

"Um… okay." Tomoya had to remind himself that this was the highly analytical Kotomi he was dealing with and answering a question like this was not necessarily a relationship ender. "I guess it would have to be her athleticism..." He was about to add her social skills to the short list but considering how abrasive she could be and how quickly she could go from calm to rage… perhaps she needed as much work on her social skills as Kotomi did.

"Yes," Kotomi agreed, "she is certainly more athletic than me. That is something I will have to work on." They walked in silence for a few minutes before Kotomi asked, "I am wondering why you did not also mention that she is better at social interactions than I am?"

"Because she is not." Tomoya said, "If she was good at social interactions, then she wouldn't be firing off dictionaries at people for talking to her sister.

"I see your point." Kotomi said as she looked at the slowly disappearing bruises on Tomoya's face. "Do you think she is dangerous?"

"Yes," Tomoya answered quickly, "but I don't think that's a bad thing."

"How so?" Kotomi asked.

"In the same way that I can be dangerous." Tomoya answered.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi thought she was reassuring her boyfriend, "you are not dangerous."

"Kotomi-chan," Tomoya said steadily, "if someone tried to hurt you, I can assure you that I can become quite dangerous."

"I see," Kotomi thought for a moment and said, "a high protection coefficient implies that it is dangerous."

"Yeah… something like that." Tomoya agreed.

"Let me be more specific then." Kotomi stipulated, "If I had to go somewhere without you. Somewhere that you thought was not safe. Would you feel better if Kyou was with me?"

"Yes." although he would feel better if it was Kyou, Tomoyo, and a battalion of police.

"Would you feel better if we both had to go somewhere and we left our infant child with Kyou?"

"Ye… WHAT?" Tomoya gasped.

"Hypothetically." Kotomi clarified.

"Hypothetically?" Tomoya wanted to be certain on this point.

"Hypothetically." Kotomi reassured him.

"All right then," Tomoya thought about it a moment, "hypothetically… if we had a child and we were concerned for the child's safety… and we had to be away… I can't think of anyone that would be better than Fujibayashi Kyou." For a moment he did consider Sakagami Tomoyo, but he didn't know her well enough to compare her to Kyou. Certainly her fighting skills were there, but he had seen nothing to indicate she wanted to, or even could take care of a child. Kyou, on the other hand, said she wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher.

"Interesting." Kotomi went back into thought as they arrived at her house. A gray haired man with a briefcase was waiting for them at her front door. Kotomi felt only a small twitch as she saw him. Knowing he was not a bad man and getting rid of the emotional association was, as she had discovered, two entirely different matters. It helped that Tomoya was at her side. He had given her hand a gentle reassuring squeeze when they saw him before he bowed to greet the gentleman.

"Okazaki-san, Kotomi-chan." Kobayashi Jun smiled seeing the two of them holding hands.

"Ojisan." Kotomi called called to him.

"Kobayashi-hakase," Tomoya asked, "what brings you out today?" Tomoya noticed the sidelong look to Kotomi and her slight nod of approval before the gray haired gentleman answered.

"I am here to discuss the situation with Fujibayashi Kyou."

Kotomi brought in the tea set to go with the cake she had set out. It had not taken her long but it had given Kobayashi Jun time to open his briefcase and pull out a notebook and a folder bound in red string. Tomoya could see the folder had a label on it with the name _Fujibayashi Kyou_. He could also see that there were other folders in the briefcase that he was now closing. Tomoya didn't know why, but this gave him an uneasy feeling. He looked up from the briefcase and saw that Kobayashi Jun was watching him. Tomoya saw an eyebrow go up and knew that the man was expecting something from him.

"Why do you have a folder on Kyou?" Tomoya asked as politely as he could.

"I was asked to put this together by Kotomi-chan." the man smiled. Tomoya trusted Kotomi implicitly so that line of questioning was done.

"I saw other folders..." Tomoya commented.

"There is one that might interest you," Kobayashi Jun's answer sounded honest, "the rest are work related and have nothing to do with you or your friends."

"Can I see the other folder?" Tomoya asked.

"Of course," Kobayashi Jun said as he reached into the briefcase and pulled out a folder that had a label that read _Okazaki Tomoya_. Tomoya's eyes opened wide as he looked at the folder bound in red string. He looked at Kotomi and noticed that she didn't appear to be surprised at all to see this folder. He wanted to know what was in the folder but he didn't want to upset Kotomi. For that matter, he didn't really want to upset Kobayashi Jun either.

"Thanks," Tomoya bit back saying more than that.

"I can give you the folder or you can trust me to sum it up for you." Kobayashi Jun offered, "Which would you prefer?"

"I will trust your summary," Tomoya answered. Part of it was that he wanted to show Kotomi and Kobayashi-hakase that he trusted the man, but the other part was that it was a pretty thick folder and looked like it could be a lot of reading.

"Birth record, immunization records, school transcripts, interviews with current and past teachers and counselors. And an interview with your father."

"What?" Tomoya stood in surprise, "how could you..."

"Your father signed a legal document that gave me parental level rights so it is all legal." Tomoya was stunned and sat down again. He was about to ask the next question when Kobayashi Jun answered it preemptively, "After I explained that you are currently doing something very positive in your life and may be able to go to college and make something of yourself, your father was quite willing to sign the authorization. Despite what you may think, he cares very deeply for your well being."

"We may have a difference of opinion there." Tomoya didn't want to think about his father now and get angry, "It sounds like you might have talked to him about my future more than me. What do I need to do next?"

"You are already doing what you need to be doing the most. You need to continue studying with Kotomi and preparing yourself for the tests that will come next spring." Kobayashi Jun congratulated Tomoya, then told him, "We are looking at three colleges in the area where Kotomi will be going. It would be preferable if you could go to the same college as her but you may not have the scores for that so we are being diligent."

"I understand, and thank you," Tomoya suddenly realized how little he had prepared himself for his future and how much he had been relying on Kotomi and Kobayashi Jun. To both of them he said, "I will do my best."

"I'm sure you will." Kobayashi Jun smiled, "Then the only things left are paperwork for passport, student visa, college applications. And, of course, the wedding."

"Wedding?" Tomoya was shell shocked.

"Wait… you haven't yet? Um… I'm terribly sorry." Kobayashi Jun apologized as Kotomi's chair scooted back and she stood up.

"Tomoya-kun." she said as she always did when she was starting a conversation with him.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya answered still in a daze.

"Will you marry me?" Kotomi asked him directly. Allowing his eyes to focus, Tomoya could see that Kotomi's face was in full blush but she was still able to look at him.

"No no no no!" Tomoya cried out. Then he noticed that Kotomi was about to cry. Hurriedly he continued, "I want to be the one to ask you!"

"Oh!" Kotomi's heart almost stopped beating when she heard Tomoya say no. She acknowledged that, from all she had read, it was traditionally the male role to ask that question. And, perhaps he needed more time to consider this. Maybe marriage was something Tomoya wouldn't be interested in. So engrossed in these thoughts was she that she didn't notice that Tomoya had got up from the table and come around to her.

"Ichinose Kotomi," Tomoya said nervously, "Will you marry me? I have nothing to offer but my friendship and my love. I..." He wanted to say more but this had happened rather suddenly. He was still searching for words when Kotomi stood up and put a finger on his lips.

"Okazaki Tomoya," Kotomi replied through the tears welling up in her eyes, "your friendship and love are all that I have ever wanted. Yes, I will marry you."

The two lovers reached for each other and embraced. They kissed and let the tears fall as they both rejoiced in the huge decision they had just made. Tomoya could feel Kotomi's right leg moving up to wrap around him and her fingernails raking his back through his shirt. Kotomi was starting to let the passion take her away again when she heard…

"Ahem," Kobayashi Jun cleared his throat to remind the two love birds that he was still there. The effect was immediate.

"Oh! Both Tomoya and Kotomi cried out as they sprang apart and blushed.

"As honored as I am to be here when you proposed and accepted," Kobayashi Jun said with a smile, "I think we need to conclude the business that brought me over here so that I can leave you two to get back to your… studying."

"Yes, hakase." Tomoya responded.

"Thank you, Ojisan." Kotomi agreed.

.

 **Monday afternoon, May 19 - Fujibayashi Residence**

* * *

"Senpai, you were amazing on the basketball court this morning!" Mei gushed to a smiling Kyou. "How long have you been playing basketball?"

"Well, I shot baskets in physical education classes but I've never been on a team or anything." Kyou answered the enthusiastic eighth grader. She couldn't help but like the sweet little girl, even if she was related to Youhei.

"That's incredible!" Mei gushed, "You were all over the court and making baskets from everywhere..." Mei turned to Kyou and announced, "I want to be just like you some day!"

"What?" Kyou's expression changed to one of surprise, "Why me?"

"You're smart and pretty and athletic..." Mei answered with her usual zealous flair, "Why wouldn't I want to be like you?"

Kyou laughed and blushed a little at the cute girl calling her pretty. She wondered what Mei would look like in a few more years when she got into High School. What would she be like if she was just like me… "No Mei," Kyou's smile was gone and her eyes looked somber and haunted, "you don't want to be just like me."

"Why?" Mei was confused and concerned at Kyou's sudden mood change. It wasn't like the girl she had stayed with last night and nothing like the phenomenon she saw on the basketball court this morning.

"I…" Kyou didn't want to tell the horrible truth to this wonderful little girl that had such a high opinion of her but she considered lying to such a sweet kid even worse, "I hurt someone. I hurt him real bad. I can't be trusted."

"Senpai," Mai approached Kyou. The shorter girl took her seniors hands and held them as concerned light brown eyes looked up into melancholy purple, "Did my brother know about this?"

"Yes." Kyou took a deep breath as she felt the tendrils of guilt and depression beginning to reach up from beneath the ground to coil around her and pull her down again.

"Did your sister know?" Mei felt Kyou try to pull her hands away when she answered but she just held on tighter.

"Yes," Kyou admitted, "she knew too." Kyou wondered where Mei was going with this.

"And your parents," Mei asked lastly, "they knew too didn't they?"

"Yes..." Kyou thought that confessing all of this would scare the sweet girl away but she held onto Kyou's hands relentlessly.

"Then, you're wrong!" Mei smiled up at Kyou's confused face.

"Eh?"

"Your sister went off to spend the night with a friend when I stayed the night with you last night, right?" Mei's eyebrow arched.

"Um… yes." Kyou was going from confused to baffled with these weird questions, but looking at Mei, the kid seemed pretty sure of herself.

"So, for that to happen, my brother had to trust you, your sister had to trust you, your parents had to trust you, and I had to trust you." The steel blue haired imp positively beamed as she gave Kyou the irrefutable verdict, "See, you can be trusted."

Kyou's jaw dropped. She was stunned. How had she not seen this? How could they trust her after what she had done to Tomoya? No matter how she looked at it, Mei was right. All these people had trusted her. Granted - Youhei was pretty unreliable, but he did seem to care for his sister. And he had trusted the life of his sister with Kyou. The tears that she had been fighting finally came, but they were no longer tears of sadness. Kyou pulled the smiling girl into a hug.

"Thank you, Mei-chan." Kyou hugged her tight, "that really means a lot to me."

.

 **Monday evening, May 19 - Furukawa Residence**

* * *

The Bakery was closed and it was dinner time around the Furukawa table. Ryou and Nagisa were already washed up and in the clothes they would soon be wearing to bed. They brought the drinks in and sat down at the table. They were soon followed by Sanae with the salad bowl.

"My goodness, we sure are getting to see a lot of our Ryou-chan this week!" Sanae said cheerily.

"Oh!" Ryou dropped her chopsticks into her plate in alarm and started to get up as she said, "I don't want to overstay my welcome. I should just go and..."

"No!" all three of the Furukawa's yelled at the same time. Akio's hand came down on the head of short lavender hair and put a stop to Ryou trying to get up.

"Although," Akio added, "if she stays over any more, we may have to draw up some adoption papers."

"Dad..." Nagisa wanted to tell him not to joke with Ryou like that but her mom cut her off.

"She's already in her last year of high school dear," Sanae mentioned as if adopting Nagisa's friend was a valid option, "she would be an adult by the time the paperwork cleared."

"Mom!" Nagisa was a little surprised when her mom played along. She didn't do it that often.

"A marriage license then?" Akio asked with false innocence.

"DAD!" Both Nagisa and Ryou were looking down at the table and blushing furiously now. "Ryou-chan isn't like Okazaki-kun. You can't joke with her like you did with him."

Ryou felt on the verge of tears. She knew she was blushing hard and she knew everyone could see it. She wanted to run away. She wanted to hide from all these eyes looking at her. What would they think of her? She thought about getting up but Furukawa Akio's hand was still on her head.

"Listen to me Ryou-chan," she heard Akio's familiar deep voice, but in a more serious tone than she had ever heard it, "In this family we joke a lot, we laugh loud, and we love with open arms. I will try to take it easy on you but I can't promise that I will never say anything that will make you blush again. But know this most of all: Sanae and I already love you like a daughter and you are welcome here any time and for as long as you want to stay."

"Thank you," Ryou looked up at Akio and said, "thank you very much!" The flood of emotional release was almost too much for Ryou. She felt a dizziness along with the love that the whole Furukawa family had for her. This family was just so amazing. She envied Nagisa the warmth that her family radiated. But how could they ever love her if they knew that her thoughts for their beloved daughter were so...

"Ryou-chan," Sanae said softly, "I know you are thinking about this and I can see that it's bothering you so I'm just going to say this. Whatever kind of relationship you have with Nagisa is fine with us, as long as you are both happy."

"Mom..." Nagisa blushed hard again but was able to add, "thank you."

Akio's hand moved from Ryou's head to her back and he caught her as she fainted.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Basketball Game

**Saturday morning, May 24 - High School Gym**

* * *

Coming out of the boys locker room, Tomoya saw that everyone else was already finished cleaning up and waiting at the benches along the edge of the basketball court. Even Kyou with her long hair had finished her after-practice shower and was out. He knew he would get some ribbing for taking so long to wash up, but the hot water felt good on his shoulder after the morning basketball therapy.

Kotomi was thanking the assistants by giving them breakfast boxes before they took their leave. Tomoya was watching the ritual of each of them making a small bow, accepting the box, and moving off when he heard someone coming up behind him.

"Okazaki-san!" two cheerful voices seemed to harmonize. Turning, he saw Nagisa and Ryou approaching with their satchels and bento bags.

'Good morning Furukawa, Fujibayashi." he smiled at the two. He had been a little worried about Nagisa, but she really seemed to blossom after making friends with Ryou. Come to think of it, Ryou too seemed to be having her own spring now. She seemed more confident and assertive than he had ever seen her. "You missed the practice. Have you come early to have breakfast with us?"

"Yes," Nagisa replied as they both lifted their bento bags.

"Nagisa-chan is showing me how to make a simple breakfast." Ryou's smile then turned into a worried look, "I hope it will be okay."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Nagisa assured her lavender haired friend, "we are starting off with simple things. Learning from Kyou is like learning from a chef. She makes everything look simple until you try it yourself and find out how difficult it is."

"Eh?" Kyou looked up when she heard her name, wondering what they were saying about her.

"Furukawa was just saying..." Tomoya was about to tease Kyou by finishing the sentence with _how difficult you are_. He could already see Kyou tensing up as if she could only expect a jab from him, but more importantly, he could see that Kotomi was watching and listening to his response as well. Instead, he finished the sentence by saying, "...that you cook like a chef and it would be difficult for a beginner to try and learn from you."

"I don't try to make it difficult!" Kyou took it as an insult anyway and was expecting to get into an argument with Tomoya now, but it was Kotomi who would enlighten her.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi explained, "that is not what Tomoya-kun said. In a discipline where you are an expert, even complex things can seem simple to you. Because of this, it becomes difficult to instruct a beginner."

"I… I don't believe that." Kyou resisted.

"Really?" Kotomi raised an eyebrow, "Would you like me to teach you about string theory?"

Checkmate.

"Eh?" Kyou's fearful expression was similar to the one she had when Kotomi was reaching for her violin, "No no no no, that's fine!" She conceded, "I see your point."

"I don't see what the big deal is." Youhei said with a sly grin as he poked at the breakfast box that Kyou and his sister Mei had brought along for him. "Kyou makes mistakes too. Take this morning's breakfast for example. Its clearly not her best work."

"Youhei stop!" Kyou barked at the smiling blond haired boy. Strangely, Kyou's expression looked more fearful than angry and that gave Youhei a boost of confidence.

"Seriously, if your cooking gets any worse it will need a sticker declaring it unfit for human consumption." Youhei laughed but stopped short when he realized no-one was laughing with him.

"Youhei, I warned you!" Kyou was furious now. She took a step towards Youhei with her right fist clenched hard before her. She only got the one step toward him though. Tomoya's right arm went around her waist and his left hand covered her fist. Kyou turned to Tomoya to see if she should pommel him first for interfering, but stopped when she saw his closed eyes and the pained expression on his face.

"Youhei, you idiot." Tomoya said evenly while still holding onto Kyou.

"Eh?" Youhei was confused more by Tomoya's tone than by the words.

"Why is your sister crying?" Tomoya asked after taking a few deep breaths.

"What?" Youhei looked over at Mei. Her head was down. Blue hair obscured her face. Her shoulders were slumped and as he watched her, the breakfast box slipped out of her hands to spill onto the ground at her feet. No-one said a word and everyone could hear her quiet sobs.

Kyou was frozen in place. Tomoya's body was behind her… touching her. She could feel the press of his body against hers from her shoulders down to her hips. One arm encircled her waist pulling her all the more firmly back into his body. The other hand held her fist. Still looking up at his face, she could see the pained expression still there. Some bruising and swelling from the damage she had caused him were still there too. But his face was still the handsome vision that haunted her daydreams. She felt herself melting in his arms. Why him? Why did it have to be him? She needed to break out of this embrace and splash some cold water on her face. She needed to get over him. At the same time, she wanted nothing more than to stay just like this forever. Mei's trembling voice brought her back to the present and back to the anger she had for Youhei.

"Onii-chan," Mei wiped tears from her eyes with her sleeve, "I'm sorry my breakfast is so bad."

"No..." Youhei looked down at his breakfast box and realized the enormity of his mistake, "NO!" Youhei rushed over to where Mei was sitting and knelt next to her.

"I'm sorry." Mei was still sobbing.

"I really did like it, the breakfast was fine!" Youhei said as he tried to see her face through the steel blue curtain of hair, "I was just picking on Kyou."

"But Kyou didn't make the breakfast." Mei looked up enough that she could see her brother's eyes.

"I didn't know that." Youhei explained, "I would have said something like that even if she had made the best breakfast ever. It's like a game… or a comedy routine we do. I say something mean and she hits me."

Tomoya could feel Kyou flinch at Youhei's comment.

"Really?" Mei asked her brother.

"That's right," Youhei assured his sister, "because I'm mean and Kyou is violent."

Kyou almost collapsed in Tomoya's arms. Tomoya supported her as she began to emotionally crumble in his arms.

"I don't want you to be mean," Mei shouted at her kneeling brother, "and Kyou-senpai is not violent!"

Tomoya looked over to the bench where Nagisa, Ryou, and Kotomi sat. As they saw the expression on Tomoya's face, Ryou and Nagisa knew that look. They had seen it several times at Kotomi's birthday party when Kotomi was getting in over her head and needed the stability of her friends around her to rescue her from succumbing to her fear. The girls both looked at Kotomi sitting next to them but she was fine. A little confused, they looked back at Tomoya and realized it was Kyou that was in distress. Eyes wide and mouths agape in surprise, Nagisa and Ryou took Kotomi by the hands as they got to their feet. In moments, they had weaved around Tomoya and moved in close to Kyou. Tomoya released Kyou into the arms of her waiting friends. She sank to her knees and the other three went with her. Kyou's arms were around her sister's shoulders and she was audibly sobbing.

"Youhei," with a tone of strained resignation, Tomoya said without turning to look at him, "I think it's time to retire that routine."

"Eh?" Youhei and Mei looked up to see what was transpiring on the other side of Tomoya and realized they could hear Kyou saying something through her tears.

"I don't want to be a monster any more," she sobbed, "I'm tired of being dangerous."

"You've played the mean delinquent long enough," Tomoya said to his friend, "but, just as Kotomi has been saving me, Kyou has put too much effort into recovering you from that image for you to blow it with the mean-guy routine." Looking down at Kyou as she leaned into her sister and continued to cry, Tomoya knelt behind Kyou and placed his hand on the long lavender hair and said, "And it doesn't look like Kyou wants to play that game any more anyway."

"Onii-chan," Mei took Youhei's hand and looked into his eyes, "you're not going to be the mean-guy any more, are you?"

"I...," he wanted to argue with Tomoya. The two of them had a lot of good times over the last several years and he had enjoyed the delinquent's freedom to play the mean guy, or the joker, or the aloof slacker. There were good times, but there had always been the outcast's sadness that tinged everything they did. Every memory had a frayed and tarnished lining that told of the despair and loneliness he and Tomoya suffered as they had watched other students make friends, join clubs, have fun, and talk about their futures with hope and anticipation. Youhei knew those days were over and the two of them, the two most notorious delinquents in the school, were already setting their feet on another path. A path that included friends, clubs, and hard work. But a path that would, nonetheless leave them with memories lined with the gilded edges of hope and many friendships. Youhei told his sister, "I guess… not any more."

"You don't have to be a monster or dangerous, or violent any more." Ryou was telling her sister.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi called to her crying friend, "you do not have to be a monster, but you will always be dangerous and capable of violence."

"What?" Kyou's and Ryou's heads popped up to look at Kotomi in disbelief.

"Kotomi-chan," Nagisa cried out, "how could you say that?"

"Because it is true." Kotomi turned back to Kyou and told her, "Being a dangerous thing is part of who you are. To deny it is to deny who you are. That could only lead to psychological schism."

"I didn't know you felt that way about my sister." Ryou was starting to get upset with Kotomi for what she could only think of as betrayal.

"Of course. I have always felt that way," Kotomi admitted, "it is one of the things I admire greatly about Kyou-chan."

"...Admire?" all three of the girls asked. Then Ryou asked, "I thought you disliked bullies?"

"I do." Kotomi realized something was amiss. She looked at the three girls next to her and saw the confusion in their faces. "There seems to be a miscommunication. Allow me to clear this up." She sat back on her heels and focused on Kyou, "Can we all agree that a dangerous entity that is uncontrolled is a monster?"

Nagisa and Ryou started to look at Kyou but decided not to. All three girls nodded their heads in sorrow.

"The same dangerous entity with control, but used for bad things would be called a bully or a fiend." Kotomi then asked them, "But do you know what a dangerous entity with control, and used for good is called?"

None of the girls responded.

"Protector, guardian, defender, bodyguard," Kotomi continued as the girls eyes opened wide at the sudden change in direction this conversation was taking, "and to a lesser extent, policeman, teacher, and babysitter."

"Kotomi-chan..." Ryou whispered reverently. She was ashamed that she had thought Kotomi would betray her sister just when she needed the support of all of her friends.

"But..." Kyou refuted, "I don't have it under control."

"Not completely. Not yet." Kotomi agreed, then said confidently, "But, you will."

"You really think that I can..." Kyou wavered.

"I do." Kotomi smiled and said, "In fact, I am counting on it."

.

 **Saturday afternoon, May 24 - High School Gym**

* * *

There were quite a few spectators that showed up for a basketball game that wasn't advertised on any posters or announcements. Mei joined Nagisa, Ryou, and Kotomi on the gym floor to watch the match. Tomoyo and Yukine watched from the indoor track balcony. The three members of the choir club were there as promised. A group of underclassmen girls were unrolling a poster and taping it to the track balcony guardrail.

As Tomoya had expected, they were set up to play a three on three game against freshmen. He knew this was a setup but he had prepared for it. At some point the starters would come in with the belief that they could make up the difference in points and win the game. They would know Tomoya would figure this out and would enter the game before the score got too out of hand. But did the starters know his secret. Looking around the gym, he caught sight of the assistant coach and the two freshmen that had been attending all of his therapy sessions and training. Coincidently, they were not wearing their gym clothes at the moment and were all smiling back at Tomoya conspiratorially. Tomoya tried not to smile and keep his poker face when he saw the assistant coach give him an affirmative nod.

The leader of the starters, the team captain, introduced the rookies that the Drama Club members would be playing and explained the rules. Shortly thereafter, the game started. Tomoya showed his speed but never took a shot. He could see the three starters standing to the side and watching their play. He knew they would take notice that he was very fast, but could not raise his right arm and would only pass the ball to the shooter. How many points would they let him have? How long could the three of them keep up the pace?

Unbelievably, the starters had let the rookies play for the first fifteen minutes of the twenty minute game and the Drama Club team was up by eleven points. By then, Youhei and Kyou were a little winded, but the early morning practices had paid off in getting their stamina up.

After the team captain made a point of charging past all three of the Drama Club members and making his shot, he turned to look at them and let them know that the easy game was over. He expected to see their shock and the early look of defeat on their faces as they realized just how difficult it would be to play starters. It was disconcerting for him that Sunohara and Fujibayashi were actually smiling. Back at the line, Tomoya passed the ball to him to start the next set. He passed the ball back, then his eyes opened wide as Tomoya smiled too.

"My turn." Tomoya said as he zipped past the leader and passed the ball to Youhei. By the time Youhei passed the ball to Kyou, she was double covered, but she didn't shoot. She passed the ball back to Tomoya at the three point line and all three of the starters watched as Tomoya did something new. He did something he shouldn't be able to do. He jumped and shot the ball… with his left hand. With stunned looks, the starters watched the ball arch through the air and swish through the net. The Drama Club was now twelve points ahead.

The team captain realized his mistake. He would be able to reduce that lead now but he had not counted on having to cover three shooters. The Drama Club had too much lead and he did not have enough time. When the final seconds ran out, the Drama Club was still ahead by five points. The basketball team leader smiled at Okazaki, but it was an expression of admiration instead of challenge. Just then, Coach Oogami entered the gym with his characteristic bellowing. There was a moment of panic but it seemed that the assistant coach and the school nurse intercepted him and seemed to have some serious matter to discuss.

"Hey," the team captain said, "well played, Okazaki. You always had great moves. Now you show me strategy too. Maybe you can still play."

"Don't be ridiculous," Tomoya patted his injured shoulder dismissively. He glanced back at the fuming head coach and decided it would be best to leave now while the old man was still distracted.

"I'm serious," the team leader called after Tomoya, "you should think about it."

.

 **Saturday evening, May 24 - Ichinose House**

* * *

For the remainder of their Saturday, they saw Sunohara Mei off at the train station and had a party to celebrate their victory. The win had done wonders for everyone's spirit. Even Kyou was laughing and smiling. Everyone hoped that Youhei's great plan would work and they would hear something positive from the Choir Club on Monday.

The festivities were again at the Ichinose house. There had been a joke about the party being in Youhei's dorm room, but it was clearly too small for the revelers. It wasn't nearly as crowded as the last time, at Kotomi's birthday party. Since then, she had become a little better at being around people but it helped that it was a much smaller gathering this time. Kyou, Ryou, and Nagisa were there as well as Youhei. Yukine and Tomoyo dropped by to offer their congratulations but were invited in by Tomoya. After a little while, Nagisa's parents also showed up with platters of pastries and thanks for helping their daughter to achieve her goal with the Drama Club.

"I never knew my house would have so many parties." Kotomi was thrilled but again feeling a little timid at the increasing number of people.

"This is what happens when you have lots of friends." Tomoya reassured her.

"And a big house." Youhei chimed in. So good were everyone's spirits, that they all laughed at the weak joke.

"Kotomi-chan." Tomoya took Kotomi's hands and started their routine this time.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi replied in kind.

"Everyone is here," Tomoya stated, "do you think this is a good time?" Furukawa Sanae and Kyou's eyes got wide as they noticed their pose and heard Tomoya's question.

"Yes, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi smiled, "thank you for being so kind as to win the basketball game and get everyone in the right mood."

"Hey, what's going on?" Youhei noticed that everyone else was now frozen in place and watching Tomoya and Kotomi.

"Shh," Yukine moved up beside Youhei. Taking his right arm, she whispered to him, "I think something wonderful is about to happen."

"If I could have everyone's attention," Tomoya called out unnecessarily as everyone's attention was already riveted to Kotomi and him, "Kotomi and I have a very important… question we need to ask Kyou."

"Eh?" This was obviously not what everyone thought Tomoya was about to say and Kyou blushed as all eyes turned toward her. She tried to take a step back but Furukawa Akio gave her a push putting her squarely in the middle of the gathering. Her blush deepened as Kotomi stepped forward and took her left hand.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi asked the blushing girl, "will you be my maid of honor?"

"What?" Kyou almost fell to the floor from shock but wasn't able to get anything else out since Tomoya cut in.

"That's not fair Kotomi-chan," Tomoya chided, "I thought we both agreed that I could have Kyou as my best man."

"What!" both Kyou and Youhei shouted.

"But I think Kyou-chan would look so pretty in a flowing dress."

"All of your friends would look pretty in a flowing dress," Tomoya countered, "but you have to admit that the idea of Kyou in a tuxedo is amazing."

"Eh?" Kyou's jaw dropped as she heard Tomoya's comment.

"I have to agree with you on that." Akio nodded.

"What?" Kyou noticed that almost everyone else in the room either had looks of agreement or contemplation as they imagined Kyou in a tuxedo.

"Hey, what about me?" Youhei shouted.

"Sure," Tomoya smiled, "with your blond hair you could probably look pretty in a flowing dress too."

"I mean me in a tuxedo!" Youhei shouted with a red face.

"I guess," Tomoya seemed to consider it and said, "but I still think Kyou would look better in the tuxedo."

"Tomoya-kun, perhaps we should let Kyou-chan decide." Kotomi smiled at her lavender haired friend.

"Kotomi-chan, I agree," Tomoya smiled cunningly, "so if she decides to be your maid of honor, then Youhei will be my best man and wear the tuxedo..."

"I want..." Kyou was about to give her answer but Tomoya cut her off.

"But! If Kyou decides to be my best man, then you have to let Youhei wear the pretty dress and be your maid of honor."

"What!" Youhei gasped.

"Agreed." Kotomi said as she looked to Kyou for her answer.

"WHAT?" Youhei couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Ohhhhh," Kyou bit her lower lip as she thought about her options, "that is… really tempting."

"No… no it's not!" Youhei shouted.

"But… as much as I would really like to see that," Kyou ignored Youhei's outburst, "this is your wedding. It isn't my spectacle. And, what girl doesn't dream of being a bridesmaid and getting to wear the pretty dress?" With tears in her eyes, she hugged Kotomi, "I would be thrilled to be your maid of honor, Kotomi-chan."

"Thank you very much, Kyou-chan!" Kotomi hugged her friend back. Tomoya watched the mingling of the long lavender hair and the long purple hair and wondered what these two were going to come up with for a color scheme.

"So," Akio asked, "I take it that this is how you are officially announcing your engagement?" Effectively, with that one comment, Akio refocused everyone's attention on the engaged couple.

.

Youhei gave Tomoya a nod towards the back patio door as all the girls settled in around the dining table to talk about planning the wedding. As they quietly slipped away, Tomoya noticed they were tailed by Furukawa Akio as well.

"Looks like it's guy talk time." Akio said as he reached for his pack of cigarettes.

"Yo," Tomoya said seriously, "if you're going to light up, make sure you stay downwind, okay?"

"Huh?" Akio was a little shocked at the attitude from a _delinquent_.

"No kidding," Youhei added, "you know half the time your daughter comes to school she smells like she just smoked some cheap cigarettes."

"Nagisa… but," Akio claimed, "I never smoke in the house… and these aren't cheap!"

"Just sayin," Youhei responded, "we are trying to get rid of the delinquent reputation and walking back into that house smelling like cigarettes is not going to help."

"Fine," Akio had heard stories from both his daughter and Ryou of how hard these two were working to help their newfound friends and how hard those newfound friends were working to help these boys to improve their own situations. If it meant he had to put off a smoke until his walk home, he could do that for them. "But since we're getting personal, I'd like to ask a question."

"Sure." Tomoya watched the old man put his cigarettes away as they all sat down at the wrought iron table in the back yard near the flower garden.

"This whole getting married thing," Akio asked, "it's kinda sudden isn't it?" He turned to Youhei and asked, "You've been friends with him for a couple of years now. Did you know about this?"

"No." Youhei looked at Tomoya who was just looking down at his hands. Since it didn't look like he was ready to talk about it, Youhei added, "But, I did see it coming."

"You did?" Tomoya was shocked, "How? I didn't even see it coming."

"Think about it." Youhei smiled, "Kotomi-chan is one of the ten smartest High School students in the whole country and she is going to the best high school in this small town, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Tomoya didn't see an explanation in what Youhei said so far.

"So it is the best high school in this small town, but do you really think it is in the top ten in Japan? It isn't even in the top one hundred."

"What?" Tomoya was shocked.

"It's not so bad." Akio knew something about this as he had been looking into getting Nagisa accepted into his own alma mater when she decided to go to college. "It is in the top two hundred and there are over five thousand high schools in the country.

"Still," Youhei pressed on, "not the kind of place a _top ten in the country_ would go to if she had the choice… unless there was some other reason to come here."

"You don't mean..." Tomoya's eyes were open wide as he realized what this meant. "she came here just for me?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Youhei laughed, "Remember the deal she has with the school? She could hang out in the library and self study since the classes were meaningless to her. She had no interest in any clubs or anyone else until you showed up and asked her to join the Drama Club, right?"

"No… it can't be." Tomoya was trying to think of any reason why Youhei's argument might have holes in it.

"I think he's onto something there Brat," Akio pointed his finger at Tomoya.

"If it wasn't for the classes, the social life, or the activities..." Youhei said smugly.

"It had to be you." Akio poked his finger into Tomoya's chest hard enough to knock him back in his seat. Laughing with Youhei, Akio said, "Well brat, it sounds like you never stood a chance."

"Knock it off," Tomoya slapped the hand away from his chest but his defense like his words were halfhearted. He knew they were right and he knew now the extent that Kotomi went to see him again.

"But what about you?" Akio asked.

"Huh?" Tomoya was brought out of his reverie by the question.

"Why did you agree to marry her?" Youhei asked his friend, "You just recently remembered her from ten years ago. Are you really head over heels in love with her now?"

"I don't know…" Tomoya tried to find the words, "… how to explain it." He remembered the conversation he had recently had with Kotomi and told them, "She is pretty and smart, and there is something about her that makes me just… want to do my best." He was at a loss for words.

"So she would make a great coach." Akio dismissed Tomoya's explanation, "That doesn't sound like a marriage-worthy declaration of love."

"Erk!" Youhei made a horrified expression, "I hope that isn't what you said when you proposed."

"No!" Tomoya was getting mad at these guys, but also upset at himself for not being able to put into words how he felt. "It's just… I don't know how to say it. I can't stop thinking about her. At first it was the occasional thought but… it's all the time now!"

"Um… creepy." Youhei commented to Akio.

"No, not like that!" Tomoya was starting to turn red in the face, "It makes me happy when I think of her so I end up thinking of her a lot. And when I'm with her, I feel more loved, and more alive than I've felt in a long… long..." There were tears in his eyes as Tomoya tried to remember when he had ever felt this way. How long ago it was. Before the fight with his father that ruined his shoulder. Before his father became an alcoholic. Before middle-school when he and his father would…

"That's enough." Akio clapped his strong hand over Tomoya's shoulder, "I'm convinced. And I think you got it right even if you couldn't find the perfect words."

"Yeah?" Tomoya asked the suddenly wizened looking adult.

"I was worried that it was some ephemeral puppy love that hits like a ton of bricks but fades away pretty quickly." Akio then smiled, "But it sounds like you are more in love with her every day. I'm pretty sure you kids are going to be all right."

"Oh, good timing too!" Youhei got up from the garden table and headed for the patio door, "It looks like dinner is ready!"

.

It was a dark windless night after the sunset. There was adequate light from the street lamps and the windows of the Ichinose home, but an overcast sky obscured the stars and the moon. Tomoyo, Youhei, and Yukine had turned the same way from the gate after they had left the party.

"You have some interesting friends, Sunohara." Tomoyo stated as she walked abreast of the other two and on the other side of Yukine.

"Eh?" Youhei couldn't tell if Tomoyo was being nice, sarcastic, or dismissive. "Are you trying to start a fight?"

"They are good people." Tomoyo said levelly as she overlooked his question. "I find them to be interesting and I am curious to know why so many class reps and honor students have decided to gather around the school's two most notorious delinquents?"

"That..." Youhei started to argue but realized that it was a good question. Every one of these girls were attractive and made good grades. None of them were troublemakers. Finally he admitted, "That's a good question."

"Okazaki Tomoya." Yukine answered the question.

"Eh?" Tomoyo asked.

"Except for the Fujibayashi twins knowing each other, all the rest of us have met and got to know each other through Okazaki-san." Yukine explained.

Tomoyo was about to argue the point that she met Youhei first, but if it hadn't been for Okazaki engaging her in conversation, Tomoyo doubted she would ever have had more interaction than giving Youhei his daily smack-down. Speaking of which, there was something she needed to say.

"Sunohara," Tomoyo said, "I want to apologize for not taking you seriously when you asked me to play basketball to help the Drama Club."

"That's okay," Youhei said pretentiously, "I understand why you still didn't trust me then."

"I do not trust you now." Tomoyo's flat response crushed Youhei's imperious attitude.

"So brutal!" Youhei feigned a blow to the back at Tomoyo's words.

Yukine giggled at Youhei's antics and took his arm as if to support him after being so terribly injured by Tomoyo's well aimed words.

Even Tomoyo smiled at Youhei and Yukine's silliness. It had been a very pleasant and cheerful evening with good people. She was still smiling when she got to the intersection where she would turn to walk alone to her home. Tomoyo was glad she had agreed to come and yearned to have good friends like this group. In her life, she had rarely ever had friends like that. Perhaps… but no. There was no time for it. She had the student council president election coming up and … her goal to think of. She shook her head wistfully and wished circumstances could have been different.

After the intersection where Tomoyo went her own way, Yukine continued to hold onto Youhei's arm. They had walked for several blocks before he seemed to take notice of it. Youhei wondered if he should say something. Maybe she forgot she was holding onto him? She could be deep in thought and just walking on auto-pilot. He thought about bringing her attention to it but admittedly, he really liked having this nice girl on his arm. Of course, it would all end in tears. Eventually she would realize she was still holding the arm of such a disreputable person and would be disgusted with herself. She would probably call him names like creep or pervert. The unavoidable ending saddened him but he still couldn't bring himself to disentangle himself from her. In the midst of the sadness was a hopeful smile on Youhei's face as he wished they could just aimlessly walk like this all night. Yukine suddenly came to a stop and Youhei realized the end had come. He turned to her to hear the inevitable complaint.

"Thank you for walking me home, Youhei." Yukine smiled as she let go of Youhei's arm.

Youhei was still standing frozen at the gate with the same shocked expression on his face several minutes after Yukine had gone inside her house.


	11. Chapter 11 - Red String

**Sunday noon, May 25 - The Park**

* * *

Tomoya and Kotomi were seated on a picnic blanket under the spreading Sakura tree's in the small park at the foot of the hill that winds up to their high school. It was well past the time of the blossoming of these trees, but the shade was nice on this Sunday in late May. Next to the blanket was a large and elaborate bento kit that was full as Kotomi had prepared enough food for three. For now though, there were only these two.

They lay relaxing on the blanket and watching the clouds slowly rolling across the sky as the gentle breezes wafted them on the hillside. The chirping of the birds in the Sakura branches meshed with the laughter of children from the playground area at the base of the hill. Kites caught the gleam of the sun as rays of light streamed out from a passing cloud. Together, with hands held as they lay on the blanket, they had been experiencing this scenic marvel for almost ten minutes now.

"Kotomi-chan." Tomoya started.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi answered.

"I'm bored." Tomoya admitted.

"As am I." Kotomi agreed, "It may have been a mistake to give ourselves thirty minutes to relax and enjoy the scenery before Kyou-chan is supposed to arrive.

"The thing is," Tomoya sighed, "I don't know why I'm bored. I used to enjoy this kind of thing."

"Perhaps, back when you were able to enjoy this kind of thing, you did not have as much going on in life." Kotomi suggested, "Your mind was able to fully relax since it wasn't aware of timetables and all the things that needed to be accomplished."

"That's probably it," Tomoya agreed as he sat up. Looking down the hill now, he could see Kyou just entering the park. "Kyou is here."

"She's early." Kotomi commented without getting up.

"A little," Tomoya looked at his watch, "by the time she gets up here she won't be that early." Looking at her more closely, it looked like she also brought a lunch. "Uh oh."

"What?" Kotomi opened her eyes to see the clouds rolling by above the Sakura branches but otherwise didn't move.

"It looks like she may have also brought a lunch." Tomoya observed.

"You did tell her that she didn't need to?" Kotomi asked.

"Yes," Tomoya said as he waved back to the smiling Kyou who was just starting up the hill.

"Then, unless you did not convey the message well," Kotomi supposed, "it is probably a dessert."

Tomoya looked carefully at the bag that Kyou was carrying. The shape of the box inside was too wide for a normal bento box but would be about right for a pie or a cake. He didn't say anything as Kyou was now within earshot, but he did smile at Kotomi's keen rationalization.

"Hey guys," Kyou called out as she approached the picnic blanket. Seeing Kotomi lying down she looked at her watch and asked, "Am I late?"

"No, Kyou-chan." Kotomi sat up a smiled, "We arrived earlier to enjoy the scenery for a bit."

"Oh, that sounds nice." Kyou would have liked to do that too, but she understood that Tomoya and Kotomi were a couple now. There would be things they would want to do with each other that would not involve their friends tagging along.

"It was nice..." Kotomi responded, "for the first five minutes."

"Oh?" Kyou wondered what went wrong.

"Then we got bored." Tomoya explained with a laugh.

Kyou handed her bag over to Tomoya and was about to sit on the open space opposite the couple when Kotomi stopped her.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi indicated the spot on the other side of Tomoya instead, "please sit next to Tomoya. I would like us all to share the same view."

"Oh… okay." Kyou had mixed emotions about this arrangement. Unless she sat in the grass, she would be awfully close to Tomoya. Kotomi's Tomoya. Kotomi's boyfriend. She had to remind herself of these things as she tried to suppress the twin horns of jealousy and desire that this arrangement was promoting. On the other hand, if she sat across from them, she would be on the downhill side of the picnic blanket and would have a view of their knees. Conversation would be awkward too with her having to crane her head up and them looking down at her all the time. Perhaps this was for the best.

"So," Tomoya asked Kyou, "shall we start on Kotomi's lunch, or do we need to get to yours before it melts?" Kotomi leaned forward and also awaited Kyou's answer.

"Oh," Kyou realized she hadn't said anything about the bag she brought, "It is a cherry pie. In my cooking abilities, pastries and desserts are my weakest, so I don't know how it will turn out."

"So," Tomoya asked with a suspicious tone, "using us as guinea pigs eh?"

"No!" Kyou was flustered, "It's just that… since you told me that Kotomi was taking care of lunch, I just..."

"Hey Kyou," Tomoya laughed, "I was just teasing. If you made it, I'm sure it will turn out fine."

"Very funny," Kyou mock punched Tomoya's arm as Kotomi began passing out the bento trays. To Kotomi, she said, "Thank you." as she took her tray. Looking at the tray, Kyou was impressed with the variety on the tray. Truly, no two items were the same. It was as if Kotomi were trying to exhibit the range of her skills.

"Itadakimasu!" they all said and selected their first bites.

Kyou had heard that Kotomi was a good cook and now she was eating what could only be described as a sampler of Kotomi's skills. Although Kyou had already given up any fight for Tomoya, to some degree she still thought of Kotomi as a rival. Thinking of her in that respect, it was hard to admit that Kotomi's lunch was quite good. True, Kyou could do better on just about everything, but not by much. Kyou knew that Tomoya would never want for a good meal with Kotomi by his side. She would make him a very good wife.

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi called out, "Do you have any plans for this evening?"

"Not really, Kyou replied, "I have some homework I need to finish up sometime today, but I am free otherwise. Why?"

"She's going to put you to work." Tomoya said wryly.

"Eh?" Kyou was confused.

"Recently I have been comparing myself to you." Kotomi explained, "I would like you to prepare dinner so that I have additional comparisons. Since you have had my lunch, we will be able to critique and compare notes."

"Kotomi..." Kyou wanted to tell her that she was so weird, but this wasn't all that odd for Kotomi. "I guess I can do that after I finish my homework."

"Tomoya-kun and I will be studying anyway," Kotomi offered, "why don't you come early and I can help you with your English homework."

"Oh, that sounds..." Kyou's eyes suddenly opened wide and she asked, "How did you know it was English homework?" Curiosity and surprise turned to concern as she felt Tomoya stiffen beside her.

"Because you always save your English homework for last." Kotomi answered.

"And how do you know that?" Alarm bells were going off in Kyou's head and her face was beginning to turn red. Kotomi was missing the verbal and visual indications that Kyou was rapidly leaving her happy place, so Tomoya cut in.

"Kotomi-chan," he turned to Kotomi but reached out and firmly grasped Kyou's hand as he spoke, "Kyou-chan is becoming agitated that we would know such things about her."

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi said in alarm, "I did not mean to agitate you and I did not notice that you were becoming upset. As my social skills are sub-par, perhaps it would be better if Tomoya explained."

Kyou's face was still red, but it was only half from anger now. Her eyes were fixated where Tomoya was holding her hand and there was no stopping the rising blush. She wanted to run away from this scene now, but it looked like Tomoya already figured that out. He was not holding her hand in the way of lovers; his grip was strong and he was clearly intending to keep her from escaping.

"I'll let go, but promise me that you will listen to everything I have to say before you run off." Tomoya said as he held up her gripped hand.

"I..." Kyou trembled, "I can't promise that." She knew that if she did make that promise, he would let go of her hand. As embarrassing as it was, she did not want him to let go of her.

"Very well," Tomoya said, "Then I'm not letting go of you until you have heard everything I have to say."

"I… see," Kyou responded but her mind played his words back to her in an unkind way. Her heart ached a bit as her interpretation was that Tomoya would be letting her go, after he had said whatever it was he had to say.

"Kyou..." Tomoya looked into her eyes and tried to present her with his most honest and sincere face, "I'm about to tell you about things that were done that will… require your forgiveness. But first I want you to know why we decided to go this far."

"Okay..." so far, his explanation was only confusing her and doing little to alleviate her fear or anger.

"We were really concerned… worried about you." Tomoya struggled, "We both think of you as a very important friend."

"Okay, we're friends," Kyou's anger was showing in her voice now, "get on with it!"

"Kyou," Tomoya looked earnest as he told her, "I don't believe you fully comprehend how much Kotomi and I care for you. I'm pretty sure you have been excusing our concern for you as pity or some other charitable emotion. But you're wrong."

"But..." Kyou stopped talking when Tomoya put a finger up to her lips.

"Let me finish this." Tomoya continued, "After Youhei, you were my only other friend in my second year. I was even crushing on you for some of that year."

"Eh?" Kyou's blush deepened. Was Tomoya an idiot? How could he be talking about this in front of his fiancé?

"And, even though you sometimes worried Kotomi that you might be a bully, you are one of the few friends that she has had in her entire life.

"Okay, I get it." Kyou tried to brash through the blush, "We are all friends."

"You don't get it yet," Tomoya told her, "Kotomi and I have agreed that when we have kids, and if something should ever happen to us, you are the person we would trust with our children."

Kyou's jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide in surprise and even fear. This must be a mistake. Surely no-one would ever entrust their precious children to a monster like her. Tomoya should know better after what he had gone through… Kyou could feel her heart hammering inside her chest. She wanted to scream at them. How could they make a decision like that. How could they be so wrong to trust her with the life of a child… Kyou needed to shout these things to them but she couldn't seem to get the air. And why had it become so dark?

"She's blacking out." she heard Kotomi say.

"I've got her," she heard Tomoya's voice but it seemed to be coming from so far away now, "she'll be okay as long..."

.

 **Sunday afternoon, May 25 - The Park**

* * *

Kyou woke up feeling contentedness and peacefulness that she had not felt in a very long time. A gentle breeze caressed her skin and tousled her hair. It carried with it the scent of pine and sakura. She lay against something warm and comforting. Taking a deep breath, she smelled the unmistakable scent of … Tomoya?

Sure, there was the pine and sakura and even jasmine and amber mixed in but she was certain she could smell Tomoya as well. Where was she? She was lying on her right side. Her head was laying on a shoulder and an arm encircled her with the hand resting on her hip. Her left leg was bent at the knee and resting on someone else's leg and her left hand was resting in someone's chest. A guy's chest. And someone's hand was covering hers.

"No no no no..." she said to herself. There could be no sufficient apology if she was sleeping and snuggled up with Tomoya. Words like disloyal and betrayal began to assault her for what could only be the most brazen and dishonorable thing a girl could ever do to the friend that asked her to be her maid of honor. Kyou desperately did not want to find out that she was so lowly and horrible that she might do something like this, but she had to open her eyes. She had to see the depths to which she had fallen. Mustering her flailing courage, she opened her eyes and saw…

"Kotomi?" Kyou gasped. Kotomi's face was only centimeters from her own. Her eyes were still closed and her face looked peaceful in sleep. Kotomi's head was on Tomoya's right shoulder as Kyou's was on his left. It was Kotomi's hand that was on top of Kyou's. Looking up, it looked like Tomoya was asleep too. Planning to escape this predicament before either of them woke up, Kyou pulled her hand back from where it rested on Tomoya's chest and watched in horror as the motion yanked Kotomi's arm along with hers. Something tugged on her wrist. Lifting up her hand she saw that her wrist was bound to Kotomi's in red string.

"No!" Kyou cried out quietly as she realized her chance at escape was gone.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi said as she came out of her own slumber, "I see you are awake now."

"What?" Kyou asked while looking at the loops of red string that wrapped around her wrist and Kotomi's.

"I brought the string for kite flying," Kotomi explained as she moved her hand in a circle to cause a single twist in the threads between her wrist and Kyou's. "but it turned out to be more useful for this. I asked Tomoya to wrap our wrists before we went to sleep… after you had passed out."

"Why?" Kyou's shocked face turned to Kotomi as the purple haired girl put her hand, fingertip to fingertip, against her own.

"To make sure I woke up when you woke up." Kotomi was about to say more when Tomoya suddenly lurched and crushed both of the girls to his sides as if a powerful spasm had taken him.

"Ah!" both of the girls cried out. They watched in horror as Tomoya's back arched and he cried out in agony through clenched teeth.

"What the hell is happening to him?" Kyou asked as she tried to pry his hand off her hip. "His hand… it's freezing cold!"

"His whole body is cold," Kotomi could feel the cold through his thin summer shirt and where she could touch him on his exposed face. "I don't know..." Kotomi admitted, "I've never seen anything like this before!"

.

 **Winter, daytime - The Illusionary World**

* * *

"What the..." Tomoya stood shocked as he looked out on an endless plain of snow.

"Don't tell me there's another one!" he heard a familiar voice from behind him. Turning, he saw three other guys. One was dressed in pajama's that were too small, one was wearing the Hikarizaka High School uniform with the gold jacket, and the other one was in heavy winter clothing. All of them looked like they could be his twin. This can't be right.

"Let me guess," the uniform Tomoya said, "your name is Okazaki Tomoya, right?"

"Yeah," Tomoya looked at the other three. I've never had a dream where I had a conversation with myself before."

"Something tells me, this isn't a dream and we aren't just different versions of the same person." the pajama Tomoya said.

"Why is that?" picnic Tomoya asked.

"This isn't my first time here." pajama Tomoya answered. Picnic Tomoya was about to say that he thought he remembered being here before too when pajama Tomoya continued, "and it isn't the first time I saw other Tomoya's here."

"Let's see how similar we are," winter Tomoya offered, "can any of you raise your right arm above your head?" They all shook their head no and they all knew why without having to hear an explanation.

"Maybe we are all the same," pajama Tomoya wondered.

"Does anyone have a girlfriend?" uniform Tomoya asked.

"I've got friends that are girls… for the first time in forever." winter Tomoya laughed.

"Yeah, me too." pajama Tomoya observed, "it started with Furukawa Nagisa for me."

"Same with me." uniform Tomoya agreed.

"Me too," winter Tomoya looked over to picnic Tomoya and asked, "what about you?"

"It started with Furukawa Nagisa for me too," picnic Tomoya answered, "but I am engaged to Ichinose Kotomi now."

"What?" pajama Tomoya gasped.

"No way!" uniform Tomoya said in disbelief.

"Who is..." winter Tomoya wondered, "wait a minute… that name sounds familiar."

"So, it looks like we are different Tomoya's" picnic Tomoya observed.

"That's great," pajama Tomoya asked, "but now what do we do?"

"How long were you here last time?" picnic Tomoya asked pajama Tomoya.

"Just long enough to be surprised," pajama Tomoya said, "not long enough to have a conversation."

"So, we've already been here longer than you were here last time. I guess that means we don't know how long this will last." offered uniform Tomoya.

"Looks like I'm the only one dressed appropriately," winter Tomoya said as he started to scan the horizon, "we should try to find some shelter soon or you guys are gonna freeze."

"Is that a shack?" uniform Tomoya was pointing toward something in the distance.

"Let's hope it is," pajama Tomoya was already making strides through the snow in that direction, "I'm starting to get really cold!" Uniform Tomoya caught up with him and made strides toward the shack on the horizon.

"What if more Tomoya's show up?" winter Tomoya asked picnic Tomoya.

"Well, you're the only one dressed in winter clothes." picnic Tomoya said, "you can wait here for a while if you want. But I think we are smart enough to follow all the tracks we'll be leaving behind."

"Yeah," winter Tomoya looked around at the tracks on the ground and agreed, "let's go."

Winter Tomoya and picnic Tomoya were about a hundred meters back from the other two when they heard pajama Tomoya suddenly scream and fall to the snow. Winter Tomoya and picnic Tomoya turned to look at each other then ran through the snow to catch up. As they got within twenty meters of the other two they heard uniform Tomoya yell.

"Stop!" he warned them, "Are you both wearing shoes?"

"Yes," they said as they came to a stop, "Why?"

"It looks like there is junk lying all over the place under the snow." Uniform Tomoya answered, "Some of it is pretty dangerous if you step on it."

"What kind of junk?" picnic Tomoya asked as winter Tomoya started kicking snow out of the way to see for himself.

"Screws, nails, metal rods… " uniform Tomoya called out, "even sheet metal."

"What kind of shoes are you wearing?" winter Tomoya asked picnic Tomoya.

"Cross Trainers," picnic Tomoya answered, "Why?"

"I'm wearing heavy boots," winter took off running for the other two and yelled back, "you be careful!" Picnic Tomoya watched as the winter dressed version of himself caught up to the other two then put pajama Tomoya over his back in a fireman's carry and headed off toward the shack.

"What do we do?" uniform Tomoya asked.

"Follow in his footsteps." picnic Tomoya suggested, "Hopefully, with his heavy boots and their combined weight, he'll crush down into the ground, anything that could hurt us through our shoes."

With that, the uniform Tomoya took off into the footsteps with the picnic Tomoya following close behind. They were already fairly close to the low flat building when pajama Tomoya had hurt his foot so it didn't take long for the them to make it to the building. As they got close to it, they realized it was more of a cabin with one wall of windows that looked out over the snow covered landscape.

Finding the door unlocked, they went inside to discover the interior of the cabin was a single large room. It didn't have much for furnishings but a table, something that looked like a space heater, and a pile of rags in the corner of the room. The space heater appeared to be on, but was either set poorly or malfunctioning as the room was still bitterly cold.

Winter Tomoya moved over to the table to put the injured pajama Tomoya down.

"See if you can find a rag suitable to bind his foot," uniform Tomoya said to picnic Tomoya, "I'll try to crank up that heater.

"Right." picnic Tomoya moved over to the pile of rags. He intended to just grab them all and head back to the table but when his hand closed on the pile, he realized that he had grabbed a leg under the cloth. "Eh?"

"What is it?" winter Tomoya asked.

"There is a body in these rags." picnic Tomoya started to separate the rags to get a look at the body to see if it was still alive. For one thing, it was way too small to be another Tomoya.

"Crap!" pajama Tomoya said, "this just went from potential dream to definite nightmare."

"Wait," picnic Tomoya rejoiced, "She's alive!" Then more somberly, "But she's freezing. Give me your jacket!"

"Um, no." Winter Tomoya answered as if that was the stupidest comment ever.

"Come on, she's just a kid. She's gonna die!" picnic Tomoya pleaded.

"Giving her my jacket won't help. That's not how jackets work!" winter Tomoya looked around the room and saw that everyone was staring back as if he was the crazy one. "Wait a minute… why am I the only one that knows that? Where are you guys from?"

"Hikarizaka City." picnic Tomoya answered. Pajama Tomoya and uniform Tomoya both nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, me too." winter Tomoya admitted, "and in the Hikarizaka City where you come from… is it winter almost ten months of the year?"

"What?" all the other Tomoya's yelled at once.

"Damn," winter Tomoya started taking off his jacket and explained, "Here's what we'll do. Under this jacket I am wearing a sweater, a heavy shirt and an undershirt. After I take them all off, uniform Tomoya will bring her to me and help me get my jacket back on with both of us inside. Picnic Tomoya, you can put my sweater on and pajama Tomoya can put on the heavy shirt."

"What about the undershirt?" pajama Tomoya asked.

"We'll use that to bind your foot. If there is any left, you should wrap it around your other foot." winter Tomoya told pajama Tomoya as he finished taking off the sweater and handing it to picnic Tomoya.

"Why his foot?" uniform Tomoya asked as he accepted the transfer of the shivering little girl from picnic Tomoya.

"The human body looses most of its heat through the head and the feet." winter Tomoya said as he peeled off the heavy shirt and handed that over to picnic Tomoya. A moment later and he was handing the undershirt over to picnic Tomoya since pajama Tomoya was still putting the heavy shirt on. Then he gasped as the small girls cold body was pressed up against his bare skin. She was still wearing the light colored shift but the cloth was a summer weight and he could feel her cold limbs and body through the material easily.

Picnic Tomoya was able to bind pajama Tomoya's wound with a torn off strip of cloth from the long sleeve undershirt. As picnic Tomoya finally got a chance to put on the offered sweater, he thought he heard someone call to him from far away. He looked around but none of the other Tomoya's seemed to notice anything.

"Good news," uniform Tomoya said as he helped zip up the jacket with the little girl and winter Tomoya inside, "the heater is throwing out more heat but it will be a while before it gets a room this size warm."

"Good," winter Tomoya said, "I suggest you guys gather around the heater and try to get some rest."

"What about you?" pajama Tomoya asked as he limped closer to the warmth of the small heater.

"I have to be careful." winter Tomoya explained, "with the jacket zipped up, it is making the best use of my heat for the girl, but if I sit wrong I could suffocate her."

It was hard to relax anywhere. This cabin must not have any insulation at all. The walls and floors were cold to the touch. The place was truly miserable. Why would anyone want to be in a place like this? And why would a little girl be out here all alone like this? Was she abandoned? Just then, picnic Tomoya heard the call again.

"Tomoya!" it was definitely Kyou's voice. Her voice was faint, but had the feel of someone screaming. She sounded scared but not panicky. He was about to get up to see if she was wandering around outside the cabin in that awful frozen wasteland, but she didn't sound far away.

"Hey," pajama Tomoya interrupted picnic Tomoya's thoughts, "You're really engaged to Kotomi?" Picnic Tomoya nodded as winter Tomoya spoke up.

"Who is she?" he asked, "Why is that name so familiar?"

"Over ten years ago we were childhood friends." picnic Tomoya said, "I found her again just this year in the school library."

"Holy shit!" pajama Tomoya looked like he had seen a ghost, "So that's where I knew her from!"

"I found her in the library too, but she won't talk to me." uniform Tomoya said.

"I had to call her Kotomi-chan before she would talk to me." picnic Tomoya admitted.

"Are you guys in the drama club?" uniform Tomoya asked.

"We are trying to get the drama club started up again but we've been having problems." picnic Tomoya answered.

"What's this about a drama club?" winter Tomoya asked and pajama Tomoya looked curious too.

"It's Furukawa's dream to do some kind of drama production on stage at the school." uniform Tomoya said.

"Huh?" winter Tomoya almost laughed, "where I come from, Furukawa is in the choir club. She actually has a really good voice."

"So, there are more differences..." uniform Tomoya observed.

"Have you guys made up with dad?" pajama Tomoya asked.

"Whaaaat?" the other three were surprised with that one.

"Find your grandmother." pajama Tomoya told them. "Dad's mom should still be alive. Talk to her," he looked down and his eyes had a far away look as he finished, "it's important."

The room was silent after that. All four Tomoya's were thinking about the troubles they had with their dads and it looked like that was one more thing that was a constant. As picnic Tomoya thought about what pajama Tomoya had said, he could feel the weariness of the day rising up in him to pull him down to sleep.

"Tomoya!" Kyou called to him again. She still sounded faint, but much closer now – almost as if he could reach out and touch her. The last thing he remembered in that place was, as he lay down on the hard wood floor, that it didn't feel so cold now.

.

 **Sunday afternoon, May 25 - The Park**

* * *

"Tomoya!" He heard Kyou shouting his name.

"Tomoya-kun!" he could hear Kotomi saying his name through sobs.

"Where am I?" Tomoya asked as he opened his eyes and saw blue sky and summer clouds through the greenery of the sakura branches.

"He's awake!" Kyou shouted, "Kotomi, he's awake!"

An instant later Kotomi had thrown herself on Tomoya. Her arms were around him and she sobbed into his neck as her long purple hair cascaded over his face and chest like a blanket. Tomoya held onto Kotomi with one hand, patting her back to calm her down. With the other hand he cleared the layer of purple hair away from his eyes and looked up to see Kyou kneeling beside him. She looked frightened, confused, relieved, and pensive all at once. He smiled at her and reaching out, he took her hand.

"Thank you." he said to her.

"For what?" Kyou asked through her blush.

"I could hear you calling me." he tried to recall the memories but they were like wisps of smoke on a windy day, "You called me back from that place."


	12. Chapter 12 - Ferris Wheel

**Sunday afternoon, May 25 - Ichinose House**

* * *

Kyou approached the front door of the Ichinose house with her school book bag over her shoulder. As she was packing it up to come over for the study session, she realized that she never did get a good explanation from those two about how they knew she always did her English homework last. Of course, many things were forgotten after Tomoya had that weird episode. She wanted to ask Ryou if she knew anything about Tomoya's strange fit, but she had not come back from her trip to the amusement park with Nagisa yet.

That thought had made Kyou smile. All her life, Ryou had been more like a kid sister than a twin sister when it came to friends. She hadn't made many friends of her own over the years but had become acquainted with most of Kyou's friends. Nagisa was different though. Ryou and Nagisa really hit it off. Perhaps it was their strong friendship or, if Youhei was right, Kyou's own influence finally rubbing off on her younger twin but it did seem like Ryou was finally coming into herself. She seemed more confident and assertive than she had ever been just in the few weeks since the school year started.

She was thinking about her sister and about to ring the doorbell when she noticed the folded paper that was taped to the glass storm door. Through the glass, she could see _Kyou-chan_ written on the note in Kotomi's elegant handwriting. Opening the storm door, she grabbed the note and opened it.

 _Kyou-chan, please come in. We are in the living room. I am attempting to help Tomoya recount his memories of this afternoon. Thank you very much, Kotomi-chan._

Kyou smiled as she read the note. It was so like Kotomi: clear, concise and to the point. She entered the front door and locked it behind her. Kotomi's neighborhood was nice but old habits die hard. Walking into the living room she could see Tomoya lying down on a couch and Kotomi sitting next to him with a notepad. She was holding his hand and quietly asking him questions at the moment. It was a strange sight; they sort of looked like a couple and they also looked like a scene from a psychiatrists office. Of course, Kotomi was the analyst.

Looking past the couch, Kyou saw that there were already textbooks, notebooks, and folders all over the dining table. Evidently, Tomoya and Kotomi had already been studying today and were just taking a break to try and recall some memories. As quietly as she could, Kyou walked past the couple by the couch and put her bag down in a chair at the dining table. As she took her own study materials out of the bag and set them on the table, she noticed a folder with a printed label that had her name on it. She thought about leaving it alone, but it did have her name on it. She decided that a quick peek shouldn't hurt.

A quick peek was all it took. The first thing she saw as the folder cover opened was a copy of her birth certificate. She gasped and her eyes opened wide, but this wasn't the only thing to shock her. As she flipped through the pages, she could see the record of her life in the forms of school records, medical records, her license to operate a motor scooter, interviews with teachers and even… her parents.

"WHAT THE HELL?" she turned on Kotomi and Tomoya who were now standing beside the chair and couch respectively. They saw the folder in her hand and that she already had a Japanese-English dictionary in the other hand. Tomoya jumped in front of Kotomi and shielded her with his body.

"Wait Kyou," Tomoya pleaded, "I can explain!"

"How..." Kyou was clearly enraged and shouted as she held up the offending folder, "how can there be any explanation for this?"

"We needed all of that information to convince the trust board that you were a worthy investment to spend the money to send you to America to go to college with us!" Kotomi shouted through her fear.

"Huh?" Kyou was still mad, but that explanation caught her completely off guard.

"Kyou-chan!" Kotomi begged through her trembling and tears, "Please don't kill us!"

 _Please don't kill us!_

 _Please don't kill us!_

"What?" Kyou could see the real fear in what little of Kotomi she could see behind Tomoya's body. Even Tomoya was trying to shield his head from whatever damage was to come. She was wondering how they could be this frightened of her when her eyes fell on the dictionary still in her hand. The dictionary fell from her hand and she fell to her knees. "No..." Kyou wanted to deny that this was happening… again.

 _Please don't kill us!_

 _Please don't kill us!_

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi could see that Kyou had slumped to the floor but Tomoya was currently facing away from Kyou and protectively holding onto Kotomi.

 _Please don't kill us!_

 _Please don't kill us!_

"No no no no." Kyou's eyes had that haunted look again as her mind played back that awful day when Tomoya's blood went everywhere. She kept hearing Kotomi's plea echoing through her tortured mind, _Please don't kill us!_

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi said quickly, "Kyou-chan is in crisis!"

Tomoya only paused for a moment for his girlfriend's words to register before he started to move. Still holding onto Kotomi, he turned to see Kyou already on the floor. The dictionary was dropped and she looked listless. Letting go of Kotomi he raced to Kyou and threw his arms around her – pinning her arms to her sides. As much as he wanted to comfort Kyou, he also needed to protect his girlfriend.

 _Please don't kill us!_

 _Please don't kill us!_

"I'm here Kyou," Tomoya said softly into the shaking mop of lavender hair, "everything is okay. You didn't hurt anyone. I'm right here."

"I am here too Kyou-chan." Kotomi hugged Kyou from the other side. She hoped she was doing the right thing. She hadn't thought to analyze anything this time. She was just following Tomoya's lead for now. "I am not hurt either. You were able to show adequate restraint."

"Adequate restraint?" Kyou's anger seemed to be slowly boiling back. "I shouldn't need to require that much restraint! I came here to study. Why do you even have that folder?"

"I have already explained that to you." Kotomi looked confused, "Did you not understand my words? Shall I paraphrase for you?"

"No..." Kyou actually did forget Kotomi's rapid explanation in the heat of her anger but she didn't want to look stupid, "I mean… why did you do this? Why do you even care?"

"This has been explained as well – just this afternoon." Kotomi said with an edge of concern growing in her voice, "Kyou-chan, I am truly becoming concerned for your memory and cognitive abilities. Did you hit your head when you dropped to the floor?"

"No, I…" Kyou now felt like she couldn't say anything without looking like an idiot, "You never asked me. Why didn't you talk to me about this?"

"At the time when I requested this information, you were in a grave state of depression. It was following the incident with Tomoya-kun." Kotomi answered the question but was still concerned since she thought this was something Kyou should have figured out on her own. "I was advised that you were not in a good state to be making decisions about your future."

"Oh yeah?" Kyou snapped, "And who decided that for me?"

"Your parents." Kotomi answered simply.

"Oh." Kyou couldn't argue that one. "Still, this is a pretty serious violation of my privacy!"

"Yes," Kotomi then dismissed the admission, "but it was completely legal, and even ethical."

"What?" Kyou felt that she could argue that one.

"Your birthday is the ninth of September." Kotomi stated the facts, "Until then, you are still a minor and these decisions are made by your parents."

"So?" Kyou wanted to know what that had to do with any of this.

"One of the forms in that folder is a signed document from your parents giving their full cooperation and permission." Kotomi said.

Checkmate.

Kyou looked over at Tomoya for support. He smiled and shook his head. "She did the same thing to me." he said with a chuckle.

.

Kyou sat at the table with Tomoya and Kotomi. Each of them had a cup of tea that Kotomi said was supposed to be calming. There were cookies on a plate and Kyou's cherry pie from the picnic was on the table as well. Kyou took a sip of the tea and fidgeted. She had never been very good at apologies.

"Tomoya. Kotomi-chan, I'm sorry for blowing up again." Kyou stared into her tea.

"It's nothing," Tomoya waved it off.

"It was completely understandable," Kotomi said, "That was a pretty rude thing to find on the table."

"Yeah," Kyou bit her lip, "I have to say that I'm not a fan of other people trying to decide my future for me."

"I am aware of this," Kotomi told her, "Your parents said that there had been some harsh disagreements between you and them about your decision to be a Kindergarten teacher."

"You..." the heat started to come back into Kyou's face, "you talked to my parents about that?"

"I didn't," Kotomi indicated the folder with Kyou's name on it that was now lying on the table between all of them, "but the comments are in there."

"Somebody interviewed my parents?" Kyou knew the answer even as she asked it.

"Parents, teachers, advisors, counselors..." Kotomi rattled off the list.

"Great," Kyou looked at the folder now like it could come to life and bite her.

"Actually," Tomoya chipped in, "it is pretty great. A lot of people really think the world of you." Tomoya took a bite of a cookie and laughed, "You certainly have better comments in yours than I have in mine!"

Kyou was a little shocked. She had thought that Tomoya's earlier comment that Kotomi had one of these folders on him was a joke. Still, she needed to find out what this was all about.

"So," Kyou asked the question that she was sure she wouldn't want to hear the answer to, "tell me about this plan for my future that you've come up with."

"Nothing is cast in stone." Tomoya told Kyou before Kotomi got started with her sales pitch.

"The first option I would like to present is the one I prefer." Kotomi said, "This plan has the benefit of making everyone happy… including your parents."

Kyou groaned and rolled her eyes.

"You will come with us to America where you will attend a university and room with us." Kotomi was giving her the extremely summarized version, "You will stay with us until you finish your education. At that point, you can stay with us or return home."

"That's pretty vague." Kyou picked, "What degree are my parents insisting on and what about my desire to be a Kindergarten teacher?"

"You will be able to take a dual degree program at this university." Kotomi explained, "One of them will be in a math or science as your parents desire. The second can be in primary education."

"I see," Kyou thought about it, "you said this was the first option?"

"The second option is less desirable from my perspective, but Tomoya feels that we owe it to you to make the offer." Kotomi admitted.

Kyou wondered why Tomoya felt that they owed anything to her.

"I have looked into what is required to be a Kindergarten teacher." Kotomi reported, "You should be able to achieve that goal with the local community college. I would ask that you move into this house and keep it up for us while we are away and you are getting your certificate to teach Kindergarten."

"You want me to be your house keeper?" Kyou was surprised.

"You'll need the money." Tomoya said with a lopsided grin, "Kindergarten teacher pay is so low, I'm pretty sure most of them do it as a hobby."

Kyou shot Tomoya an accusatory glance. That was exactly the kind of thing her father would say. Still, it was true. Kyou knew it wasn't a job that would ever get you rich but it was something she wanted to do. She needed to do this to prove… She needed to prove that she wasn't a monster. What better way was there than to be entrusted with other people's children? But maybe… maybe that dream was over now.

Kyou wondered why Kotomi was so willing to do this for her. Why was it so important for Kyou to be with them? She looked across the table at Tomoya and saw only his trademark dispassionate bored expression looking back. Not so with Kotomi; that girl should never try to play poker. Kyou could see the the hope in her eyes.. hope that she would choose the first option. But why? She thought about asking Tomoya about it in private, but with Kotomi – that wasn't necessary. Turning to Tomoya, she knew that she was about to make him uncomfortable.

"Tomoya," she asked, "Why is it so important to Kotomi that I go to America with her?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Tomoya countered, but surprisingly he did not look uncomfortable.

"I'm asking you." Kyou emphasized with set jaw and narrowed eyes.

"Kotomi doesn't make friends easily… as you well know." Tomoya started off, "She has grown up her entire life in this town and in this house. She is going to another country, another culture, and a different primary language. She will not be with friends or acquaintances in her classes, and this will be very stressful. She is actually scared to death of this change in her life. She is not a strong person when it comes to things like this and the stress could destroy her."

Kyou looked over at Kotomi and saw that she was nearly in tears. Tomoya, as expected, was delivering the hard cold truth. It was perhaps too hard and too cold. Kyou now regretted asking this question of Tomoya in front of Kotomi.

"The best way to help Kotomi is to have some people there that she knows and trusts. People that make her feel safe and comfortable. Someone that she can count on be there for her." Tomoya said, "That's us Kyou."

Kyou's eyes opened wide. Kotomi was entrusting her…? Looking back to Kotomi, she saw the purple haired girl was on the edge of tears. The hope in her eyes was begging Kyou to agree.

"We aren't just names on a list Kyou," Tomoya continued, "we are the only names on the list."

"Eh?" Kyou followed Tomoya's hand as he reached over and picked up the Fujibayashi Kyou folder that started this conversation.

"There are only two of these folders Kyou," Tomoya held the folder up between them, "One with your name on it and one with my name on it. We are the only two that can do this."

"But the expense," Kyou cast about for reasons that would prevent her from agreeing to this mad idea, "my family can't afford..."

"This is an all-expenses-paid offer." Tomoya smiled, "And yeah, I tried that excuse too."

"Kotomi-chan!" Kyou gasped, "That's too much! I couldn't possibly..."

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi said timidly, "the Ichinose Trust is well provisioned. This is nothing compared to the peace of mind that you will give me by just being there."

"But Ryou..." Kyou grasped.

"I wouldn't worry too much about Ryou." Tomoya smiled, "It looks like the Furukawa's are trying to get both Ryou and Nagisa accepted into their alma-mater. Apparently their university has a pre-med program and a good theater program too."

"Wow..." Kyou felt trapped and she didn't like that feeling. "You really thought of all the answers." There was nothing wrong with what they were asking her but… she couldn't escape the feeling that something would go wrong… something bad would come of this. And sure, they were both trying to do what they thought was best for her, but she still felt that she was being forced into something.

"I do try to be thorough." Kotomi admitted.

"Can I think about this?" Kyou countered.

"You can," Kotomi raised a finger, "but there is something you will need to start doing immediately on the chance that you will agree to go to America with us."

"What?" Kyou asked suspiciously.

"You will need to come over here every day and allow me to tutor you in English." Kotomi pointed out, "You have roughly a year to become fluent."

"No!" Kyou cried out, "And that's my worst subject."

"Which is why you always do your English homework last." Tomoya smiled, "But, don't worry about it. Kotomi is a great tutor. I'm already vastly improved!"

"Oh really..." Kyou had a disbelieving expression, "Let's see how vastly improved you are when the semester finals scores are posted."

Tomoya said nothing but made an audible gulp sound as he remembered the final exams coming up in July. A comforting hand laid across his shoulder.

"I have faith in you Tomoya-kun" Kotomi said with a confident smile.

.

 **Sunday evening, May 25 - Amusement Park**

* * *

Nagisa and Ryou were not having a good time. The day at the amusement park had started off well, but at some point they noticed they were being trailed by four tough looking guys. Well, tough enough to cause the two friends trouble. They might be in high school but might even be a bit older than that. They finally made their move when Nagisa and Ryou came out of the haunted house.

"Hey, what do we have here?" The bald one leered.

"Looks like two cute girls that scream real good to me." The one with the red headband said.

"And they don't have dates." the skinny one said.

"What a coincidence!" the one with the goatee said, "We don't have dates either."

"We…" Nagisa tried to be brave, "we don't want any trouble."

"Another coincidence!" goatee grinned evilly, "we don't want you to be any trouble either."

"Oi, Furukawa-chan?" Youhei's voice came from the exit of the haunted house. The two girls turned to see Youhei with a mildly shaken looking Yukine holding onto his arm as they came out of the scary attraction.

"Hoot! Looks like shorty here brought us another one!" baldy said as he looked Yukine up and down.

"Who are you calling shorty, you bald freak!" Youhei was ready to take all four of them on but Yukine clung to his arm. He looked to her and could see that she was still getting over the haunted house but these jerks didn't bother her in the least. Youhei started to wonder if she was another dynamo like Tomoyo or Kyou.

"Hey, that's not nice." goatee said, "we were being all friendly and you want to start a fight?"

"Friendly!" Youhei was again ready to take them all on but Yukine held him back again as she looked around.

"You don't have much time." Yukine said to the four brute-wanna-be's, "you should prostrate yourselves and beg for forgiveness while you still can."

"Or what?" skinny laughed at the empty looking threat.

"Too late." Yukine announced as four guys who truly were thugs showed up.

Baldy, skinny, headband, and goatee all grunted in pain as the four large thugs walked away with them after casually putting them in painful headlocks.

"Nice day to enjoy the amusement park Miyazawa-san!" one of the thugs called out.

"Indeed it is." Yukine called back, "Thank you Lucky!"

Nagisa, Ryou, and Youhei all looked at the unassuming Yukine with dropped jaws and wide eyes.

"What?" Youhei wondered, "What was that all about?"

"My brother is overprotective of me," Yukine explained, "think of them as bodyguards."

"Your bodyguards were scarier looking than the ruffians." Ryou said.

"That may be an asset for a bodyguard." Youhei offered.

"Yeah, I guess so." Ryou agreed.

"Furukawa-senpai, Fujibayashi-senpai," Yukine said to the two seniors, "you will probably be okay the rest of the day but you are welcome to join us."

"We don't want to intrude." Nagisa was being polite but was really hoping they would insist. The incident shook her up more than she would like to admit. Ryou was shaken up too and was going to insist to Nagisa that they should just go home until Yukine made the offer to join them.

"It's nothing, really!" Youhei insisted even though he did regret giving up his private time with Yukine, "Besides, do you know what Kyou and Tomoya will do to me if you two don't decide to come with us right now?"

All of them laughed and more than one of them imagined Tomoya holding Youhei while Kyou beat him senseless.

Yukine noticed how easily Youhei got along with Nagisa and Ryou. They joked and laughed and picked on each other freely. His feelings were revealed by how stiff and formal he was with her by comparison. Seeing through him made her smile but she knew it was difficult for him and she would soon make things better for poor Youhei. Yukine also noticed how close Ryou and Nagisa were with each other. She only hoped she and Youhei would grow into that kind of warmth and intimacy in their relationship.

"The sun is close to setting," Yukine pointed out, "Let's ride the ferris wheel."

"Ooooh, that sounds like fun!" Ryou said as they all started walking towards the ride.

"Ferris wheel… really?" Youhei asked.

"What's wrong Sunohara-san?" Nagisa asked.

"Well," he grimaced, "it's kinda boring isn't it?"

"That all depends on who you're with." Yukine smiled at Youhei, "Are you bored with me?"

Nagisa and Ryou almost gasped at how direct the question was.

"No," Youhei suddenly realized how hurtful his spontaneous words could have been, "I don't think I'll ever be bored with you." Youhei blushed as he realized what he had said.

"Awwww!" Ryou tilted her head toward Nagisa.

"Sunohara-san's being so cute!" Nagisa leaned her head toward Ryou.

"Ack!" Youhei blushed hard, "cut it out guys!"

"Ah! Our ride is here." Nagisa said as she took Ryou by the hand and entered the ferris wheel's big enclosed gondola. Yukine pulled Youhei and they got in the same gondola with the two girls. Youhei thought they might get a gondola to themselves, but this wasn't so bad. There would be other times to… say things.

"So senpai," Yukine said to both Nagisa and Ryou, "how long have you two been together?"

"Eh?" the girls gasped.

"Oh come on," Youhei surprised all three of the girls, "as dense as I am, even I've noticed."

"I'm shocked!" Nagisa truly looked stunned, "I thought we were behaving normally."

"For me," Yukine told them, "it was the hands."

"Huh?" Nagisa and Ryou chirped.

"Whenever they touch, or even get close, you both blush and you pull back." Yukine told them.

"Yeah," Youhei said, "maybe it's because I've known you both a little longer but to me, you don't act the same as you used to. Not when you're with each other. You are both more confident, and yet nervous. Now that Yukine pointed out the hand thing, I think that's where the nervousness comes from."

"Oh wow." Nagisa blushed.

"I… I don't know what to say." Ryou blushed too.

"Do you hold hands in private?" Yukine asked them.

"Yes." both girls blushed deeper and looked away at the admission.

"You want to hold hands in public don't you?" Yukine, asked them, "You want to be able to hold hands with each other in front of your friends?"

"Yes." Nagisa looked up to see Yukine's face to see if she was being mean, but she saw only kindness in the girl's eyes. Ryou looked up at Nagisa with tears starting to rim her eyes, when she heard her dear friend's answer.

"Yes," Ryou agreed, "I really want to do that too."

"Then allow me to request this very special favor." Yukine clasped her own hands together and said, "Furukawa-senpai and Fujibayashi-senpai, would you please give Youhei-kun and me the honor of being the first friends to see you hold hands with each other?"

"Sunohara-san..." Ryou bit her lip, "you don't mind… if we hold hands?"

"I..." for a moment Youhei thought about making a smart-ass response. In this situation there were so many to choose from. But he knew Yukine would be disappointed and he had promised his little sister that he wouldn't be the mean guy any more. Instead he resorted to the nice-guy fall-back: What Would Tomoya Do? He smiled when he realized he could even see Tomoya saying this corny line and getting away with it. He hoped he could make it work for him too as he replied, "As long as you're happy, I'm fine with it."

The look on the faces of all three of the girls was priceless. No-one had expected that reply. Ryou had regretted asking Youhei the moment the words left her mouth; so sure was she that he would make some stupid mood ending joke out of it all. Yukine felt a pleasurable calm wash over her like a wave of warm ocean water running over someone lying on the beach. Youhei had truly come a long way since she had first met him and she couldn't be more proud of him now.

Unfortunately, just as Yukine got to see the fingers mesh between Ryou and Nagisa, Youhei noticed that the gondola was coming into the unloading dock. He jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out all of the tickets he had left. When the door opened he thrust the tickets into the operators hand.

"We're going around again!" Youhei told the guy.

"Sorry buddy," the guy said in a bored litany, "rules are rules."

"Screw the rules! We have a romantic moment going on here, we're going around again!"

"Eh?" the guy looked at the angry Youhei, the wad of tickets, and the hopeful look from the three girls in the gondola. Realizing it was too late to get them out safely now anyway, he called out, "Romance wins, enjoy your ride!"

When Youhei turned around, he realized that Yukine was standing next to him.

"Wow Sunohara-san," Nagisa had never seen this side of Youhei and was very impressed, "that was really wonderful."

"Yeah," Ryou was stunned too, "thank you very much Sunohara-san."

"Youhei..." Yukine's eyes were open wide. She could feel her heart beating madly in her chest and the sky around Youhei looked blanketed in fireworks. "That was really..." She couldn't finish the sentence. She couldn't help it. She grasped the sleeves of his shirt, went up on her toes, and kissed him.

Youhei was shocked but not for long. The kiss on his lips poured into him a feeling of contentment and completeness he had never felt before. He heard the gasps of the other two girls in the gondola but he was beyond caring about that. If this is what kissing Yukine was like, he never wanted to stop. As if on their own, his arms went around her and pulled her in tight to his body. What part of his mind wasn't telling him that she was a good fit, was screaming at him not to screw this up.

Nagisa and Ryou were wiping the tears from their eyes as they watched the lover's embrace. Lost in the romance of the moment, Nagisa sighed and unconsciously revealed her heart's desire.

"Oh, I sure would like to be kissed like that." Nagisa accidentally said out loud.

"You would?" Ryou took Nagisa's face and turned it to her. There was a moment where they were both startled as they looked into each others eyes. Ryou felt the blush and fear coming on but Nagisa closed her eyes and tilted her head for the kiss. Ryou looked at Nagisa's lovely face and chestnut hair. Her lips were soft and inviting and there was no mistaking that she wanted to be kissed. Ryou felt all the reasons, excuses, hang-ups and fears breaking apart and dissolving away. Ryou closed her own eyes and leaned in for the kiss.

Yukine broke off her kiss with Youhei and they watched quietly as Nagisa and Ryou tenderly kissed each other once, then twice. The third kiss was more passion than tender and left both the girls blushing furiously when they broke off the kiss. Nagisa and Ryou turned back to the other two when they heard Yukine's voice.

"Youhei-kun," Yukine sounded serious, "I know I'm doing this in the wrong order so I beg your forgiveness." Yukine put a finger on his lips before he could respond. She smiled at his confused expression then continued, "Youhei-kun, I like you."

Both Nagisa and Ryou gasped and Youhei's expression changed from confused to pleased. Yukine dropped her finger from Youhei's lips and continued.

"Will you go out with me?" she asked the guy that still had his arms around her and was still holding her close.

Youhei smiled and replied, "Yes. Me too. Oh God yes!" Youhei was not startled at all this time when Yukine kissed him.

"Good answer Youhei." Ryou whispered her support for their love.

.

 **Sunday evening, May 25 - Ichinose House**

* * *

At the Ichinose house, all the study materials were cleared off the table and Kyou was bringing out the food that she had prepared. After she had finished her English homework and Kotomi had run her through some additional exercises, Kyou went to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Kotomi continued to coach Tomoya in different subjects. The preparation of the meal by herself had given her plenty of time to think. She had to acknowledge that Kotomi was a good tutor. She also had to admit that her previous assumption that she would not be able to achieve a sufficient mastery of the English language in the time allowed, was unjustified.

Logically, she started to believe that she could do this. But should she? She knew her parents were all for it; she could easily see her nearly emotionless father jumping for joy at seeing Kotomi's study-abroad plan. Tomoya and Kyou also seemed to really want her to do this. Of course, that presented it's own problem. Feeling the way she did about Tomoya, should she even consider this? Was it fair to Kotomi? Was it fair to anyone? And what about Ryou? Would she feel abandoned? Would this hurt her beloved little sister?

Kyou could see a solution that, in some respects, would seem like a cowards way out. She would have all her questions by throwing up two roadblocks. One roadblock would be Kotomi and the other would be Ryou. If both of them were okay with this, she would agree to go. But, thinking about what she was going to have to do, she was pretty sure that not only would Kotomi not be okay with it but their friendship may be over. Kyou steeled herself that it couldn't be helped, she simply couldn't move forward until the problem with her feelings was addressed.

Tomoya had tasted Kyou's cooking a few times before but never a dinner. It was Kotomi's first time and she was impressed. Kotomi was no slouch in the kitchen, but even she had to admit that Kyou was good enough to be a professional at this. She was about to complement Kyou on another delicacy when she noticed Kyou's head bowed and her long lavender hair in front of her face, hiding her eyes. Kotomi had learned that this posture indicated that Kyou was very upset about something. Not the scary angry kind of upset, but more like the embarrassed and needing forgiveness kind of upset. Tomoya was already watching Kyou and had stopped eating. Kotomi stopped eating too and waited for Kyou to speak.

"Kyou." Tomoya's voice broke the silence and made both Kyou and Kotomi jolt in their seats, "You know you can say anything here."

"Anything..." Kyou repeated the word. Looking up and meeting their gaze revealed the tears in her eyes as she pushed through the fear to say what had to be said. "I have decided that I will go with you if you still want me but I have to admit something to you. Something that I have been trying to keep hidden. Keep it to myself. And after you hear this, you may hate me and no longer want me to be around you any more. I don't want to ruin our friendship by telling you this but I can't keep it a secret any longer. It wouldn't be right to either of you. I apologize for this and I already hate myself for it."

"You love Tomoya-kun." Kotomi said without emotion.

"WHAT!" Kyou screamed. "How did you… How long did you… WHAT THE HELL IS IN THAT FOLDER?"

"Kotomi-chan..." Tomoya's face was buried in his hands as he sighed, "That was a perfect shock and surprise tactic." Tomoya told his fiancée, "but this kind of thing requires finesse and that was about as brute force as you could get without hitting her."

"Brute force?" Kotomi asked for clarification. She was familiar with these terms since it was material that she had covered with Tomoya recently in a literature discussion. She was just confused about the application here.

"Yes," Tomoya explained, "what you just did to Kyou was like bullying her, at an emotional level."

"Bullying?!" Kotomi cried out in denial.

"Yes." Tomoya confirmed that Kotomi had just committed what she herself considered to be the unpardonable sin.

"No..." Kotomi started shaking as she looked over at the bewildered person across the table, "Kyou-chan, I'm so sorry." Kotomi's eyes started to dissolve into tears, "I didn't want to hurt you. I'm so sorry… I'm such an idiot!"

Kyou didn't want to do this but it was breaking her heart to watch Kotomi in pain. Getting up from her chair, she moved around the table to Kotomi and pulled her into a consoling hug. This is certainly not how she expected this conversation to go and she wasn't sure if she should be angry or relieved that both Kotomi and Tomoya seemed to know her big secret before she told them.

"It's okay," Kyou comforted Kotomi while looking across to Tomoya to drill the message in, "I'm still a lot more worried about being in love with your boyfriend than I am about… what you said."

"Really?" Kotomi asked, "You know I didn't mean to hurt you, right?"

"I know," Kyou told her as she ran her hand through the long purple hair, "I can't believe that you would ever intentionally hurt me."

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi looked up to the lavender haired girl standing next to her and asked, "do you think that you could ever come over and we could have girl talk?"

"Um… sure." Kyou wasn't sure what to make of this, "What kind of girl talk would you like to have?"

"I don't know. I've never had girl talk with a friend before." Kotomi admitted sadly.

"Well," Kyou offered, "if it's just the two of us girls and we're talking, what would you like to talk about?"

"I know," Kotomi said after a moment of thought, "we could talk about why we love Tomoya and we could compare notes."

"Hunh..." Kyou laughed, "so, two girls talking about how they love the same guy in friendly happy conversation with no-ones feelings getting hurt?"

"Yes?" Kotomi suspected the tone Kyou was using was skepticism, or sarcasm... or both.

"That will be the strangest girl talk ever." Kyou decided.


	13. Chapter 13 - Locked in the Storage Room

**Sunday evening, May 25 - Fujibayashi Residence**

* * *

Kyou was still unsure what she would do, when she got home. After the shock at the Ichinose house, she was wondering how things would go when she got home and put the question to her sister. Although she had already eaten, she sat at the table with the family for dinner. Everyone knew that she was under stress as she sat at her place, nursing her tea, and trying to find the courage to ask the question that would end up deciding her fate.

"Ryou," Kyou didn't look up from her tea, "This may seem strange that I am asking you, but I just found out about this offer to study abroad for college and it seems Mom and Dad already know about it."

Her mother gasped and her father just looked severely at Kyou.

"That sounds wonderful," Ryou cheered her big sister's fortune, "I'm so happy for you!"

"Would it make a difference," Kyou looked up to meet Ryou's eyes now, "if the offer was to go to the same college as Kotomi and Tomoya and live there with them?"

"Oh..." Ryou's expression and voice dropped from enthusiasm to despair almost instantly. Now it was Ryou that had to look down and could not meet her sister's gaze.

"Ryou?" her mother prompted the younger twin, "Is there a problem?"

"I don't think you should go, Onee-chan."

"What?" her mother could not believe Ryou's words, "Why would you say such a thing to your sister, Ryou?"

"It's this delinquent Tomoya boy, isn't it?" her father huffed. "I knew that no-account miscreant would be a problem."

"No dad!" Kyou stood at her seat with both hands balled into fists. She couldn't look at her father but she challenged his words, "Tomoya is good. There is nothing wrong with him. He's not the problem."

"Kyou!" her mother was shocked at her eldest daughter's behavior at the table but more concerned that it looked like she was crying again.

"Then tell me why!" her father demanded, "Tell me why your sister would say that!"

"Tell them, Onee-chan," Ryou encouraged her sister, "they need to understand."

"I don't know..." Kyou looked up at her younger sister and now everyone could see that she was indeed crying again, "I don't know if I understand!" She looked desperately at her sister, her mother, and even her father then ran out of the room covering the tears streaming down her face.

"Kyou!" her dad called out and was about to order her to come back and explain herself when Ryou softly spoke.

"Let her go." Ryou sighed, "I can tell you."

"Ryou," her mother placed a hand on her youngest daughter's shoulder and asked, "are you sure about this?"

"Yes." Ryou sighed again as she looked up to meet her parent's expectant faces, "Okazaki Tomoya is engaged to be married to Ichinose Kotomi."

"What?" her parents chorused. Her mother sounded surprised while her father sounded alarmed.

"But, I don't see how..." her mother's expression changed in the middle of her question as she realized something, "… oh no."

"What?" Feeling like he was missing part of a conversation, Ryou's father looked between his wife and his youngest daughter for an answer.

"Kyou is in love with Okazaki Tomoya." Ryou paused while her father gasped and recoiled, "she has been in love with him since the last school year. She never did anything about it though… because she was afraid."

"Afraid?" her father scoffed, "Kyou isn't afraid of anything."

"She was afraid that she wasn't good enough for Okazaki-kun." Ryou told her parents.

"What?" her father couldn't believe that statement. His brilliant, beautiful, and confident daughter not good enough for a delinquent? Unthinkable!

"She was worried about me because I was in love with him too." Ryou admitted.

"Ryou!" her mother gasped.

"And she was afraid of your disapproval." Ryou looked directly at her father.

"Well, I couldn't just..." her father stopped talking at a look from his wife. She could tell that there was something else that Ryou needed to say.

"All that worry and fear..." Ryou looked down at her hands, "kept her from doing anything. She lost a chance at love… a chance at happiness."

Since she was still looking down, she could not see that her mother was looking daggers at her father now.

"Onee-chan has taught me so many things about life. One thing I learned from her is that I can't let this happen to me." Ryou gathered her courage up. Both of her parents quietly watched their youngest daughter as she looked up at them again, "I am in love with Furukawa Nagisa. I would appreciate your support, but in the end… it is my decision."

Both parents sat stunned as their younger daughter got up, excused herself, and left the table to go in search of her sister.

.

"Onee-chan?" Ryou asked as she entered her sister's bedroom. Kyou didn't respond. She was still fully dressed but lying quietly on her bed. Ryou sat on the bed next to her sister and took her hand.

"Did you tell them?" Kyou finally asked.

"Yes." Ryou answered.

"How much?" Kyou asked.

"Everything." Ryou admitted.

"Do they hate me?" Kyou worried.

"I don't think so." Ryou thought about it, "I don't know. They didn't say anything."

"Dad had nothing to say?" Kyou said, "That's pretty unbelievable."

"I left the room after I told them that I'm in love with Nagisa-chan." Ryou smiled.

"Oh..." Kyou was a little surprised, "you really did tell them everything."

"Yeah." Ryou wondered if their parents would hate both of them now. Part of her wanted to run out of this house to the warmth of the Furukawa bakery and her dear Nagisa, but part of her knew she needed to be with her beloved sister.

"So…" Kyou said wistfully, "everyone in the Drama Club has found someone to love except Youhei and me." She gave a short bitter laugh and said, "At least I know I'll find someone before that little twerp does."

"Eh!" Ryou suddenly looked very guilty.

"What?" Kyou knew when her sister was trying to hide something from her.

"N… nothing." Ryou knew she was the worlds worst liar and it was not often that it was a skill that she wished she had, but now would have been a good time.

"Spill it." Kyou gave her sister a threatening look that both of them knew she would never follow through on, but the intimidation of it worked on they younger sister every time.

"We met up by chance at the amusement park, and..." Ryou looked down at her hands and told her sister, "Sunohara-san is dating Miyazawa Yukine now."

"What?" the disbelief was palpable in Kyou's simple response. Kyou could easily see that blond haired dweeb telling her sister some kind of lie to play a joke on her. "Look, just because you saw them at the amusement park at the same time doesn't mean..."

"They kissed and she confessed to him on the ferris wheel." Ryou blurted it out, "And Sunohara-san accepted her."

"You're sure he isn't lying to you about that?" Kyou still had her doubts.

"Nagisa-chan and I were on the ferris wheel with them." Ryou admitted.

"Oh… I see." Kyou was finally convinced, extremely surprised, and a little depressed. "I guess I am the last one of our little group..."

"I'm sorry onee-chan." Ryou felt bad for having told her but it would be better now than finding out at school tomorrow. They sat in silence for a few moments and Kyou tried to take her mind off the negativity of that last conversation by going back to the question she still wanted to ask about the dinner discussion.

"Why?" Kyou asked her sister, "Why did you tell me I shouldn't go with Tomoya and Kotomi-chan?"

"Oh..." Ryou sighed as the conversation moved into the uncomfortable places she dreaded, "Onee-chan, you still love Tomoya, don't you?"

"Yes," the tears started to well up in Kyou's eyes again. She tried closing her eyes but then saw endless images of Tomoya in her mind's eye, "I may love him more than ever now."

"I… thought so." Ryou squeezed her sister's hand, "But, Onee-chan, he is in love with Kotomi-chan… they are going to be married."

"I know that." Kyou cried out in defeat.

"If you go with them, you may end up destroying their relationship… or destroying yourself." Ryou felt awful as she said the words she didn't want to say, but she knew it was something she had to say.

"I told them." Kyou told her sister.

"Eh?" Ryou couldn't believe what she heard.

"I told them this afternoon that I love Tomoya." Kyou said with strain in her voice.

"What..." Ryou turned and looked at her sister's face in the darkened room, "what did they say?"

"They already knew," Kyou laughed through her tears, "Kotomi wants to get together for some girl-talk time and compare notes on why we love Tomoya."

"Huh?" Ryou was about to tell her sister not to joke around while they were having such a serious talk, but she realized that Kyou was serious. Rethinking what Kyou said, she also realized that this did sound like something Kotomi would say after all.

"Does that change your mind?" Kyou asked.

"I wish that it did." Ryou looked back at where she held her sister's hand, "I do feel better about Tomoya and Kotomi, but… I'm still worried about you."

"I see." Kyou closed her eyes and got ready to accept her sister's answer as her own.

"Onee-chan?" Ryou could feel the build up of tension in her sister, "What did you decide to do?"

"I couldn't make up my mind," Kyou admitted, "so I decided to trust your answer."

"Eh?" Ryou's jaw dropped as Kyou told her.

"Tomorrow morning at the basketball therapy session, I'll tell them that I will have to decline the offer."

"NO!" Ryou turned on her sister, "No, onee-chan! You can't do that!" Ryou was suddenly aware that her own answer would be responsible for the decisions that would affect her sister's future.

"I can't trust myself..." Kyou started to explain.

"But I don't know everything! That was just a feeling!" Ryou begged her sister, "You can't let me decide something like that!"

"But I trust you," Kyou squeezed her sister's hand, "I know you wouldn't let me do the wrong thing."

"Kyou, no!" Ryou pulled her hand away from her sister and backed away from her. Her hands went involuntarily to her face. She was mortified that Kyou would let her make this decision.

"Ryou?" Kyou could see the terror in her sister's eyes and sat up in the bed. "Ryou, what's wrong?"

"You can't…" Ryou almost whispered, "I can't decide that for you!"

"Ryou..." Kyou wanted to explain her indecision, but her sister put it back to her.

"NO!" Ryou shouted as she started to tremble, "This is your future you're talking about! It's too important. You can't let me decide something like that for you on a feeling!" Ryou was still backing toward the door to get out of her sister's room and away from this… unwanted responsibility.

"I'm sorry," Kyou was becoming concerned for her sister. She got up from the bed and started to move toward Ryou.

"You're onee-chan!" Ryou screamed at her elder twin, "You're always decisive. You always know what to do. You can't ask me to do this!" Ryou backed into her mother's arms. Her father was right behind. They had obviously come when they heard Ryou's shouts and screams.

"It's okay," her mother said softly, "I've got you. It will be okay."

"Kyou," her father said gravely, "this is not acceptable."

Kyou steeled herself for another lecturing from her father about her future but he turned to Ryou instead.

"Ryou, all your life, you have walked in the shadow of your older sister… until recently." he said sincerely and without any sign of ridicule or anger, "Your mother and I have been very proud of your recent behavior as an adult. I agree with you that it is unfair for your sister to make you responsible for such a decision," he cleared his throat and continued, "but your reaction is unbecoming."

"Yes father," Ryou looked down in shame at having been lectured by her father.

Kyou flinched when Ryou apologized. It had been her that had put Ryou in this situation and now her father would turn on her and she would be on the receiving end of another of his angry lectures. She looked down in anticipation of his displeased glare. She didn't see her father place a hand on Ryou's head and keep it there until she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Ryou," he continued in a softer voice, "You have long sought your sister's advice and help in many things but you should know that she values your opinion as well. You may not realize this, but it is clear to your mother, and to me that the respect between you two goes both ways."

Kyou's head snapped up at her father's comments and she looked at him in wonder. Not since she and Ryou had been in primary school had he spoken to them like this. Since they had become teenagers, he had been the disciplinarian. Both she and Ryou had missed the happier days when he would bounce them on his knees and tell them stories until they fell asleep. For the last four years it seemed that all they ever did was disagree and argue with each other. It suddenly occurred to her how much Tomoya was like her father. Inside the gruff shell was a warm loving person that turned up just when she needed him.

"If you would hear me out, your father will offer what little wisdom he has and make a suggestion for you." he hurriedly added, "I am not telling you what to do. It is only a suggestion."

"I would like to hear your advice, father." Kyou sounded more formal than she had intended, but his non-domineering attitude had her off-balance.

"I do too." said Ryou. She was more in shock of her sister's deference to her father than anything else. Perhaps the days of having to play referee and peacemaker between her sister and her father were finally over.

"I believe both of you should sit down with Ichinose-san and Okazaki-san and talk through all of your concerns." He turned to his eldest daughter and actually apologized to her, "I am sorry for my earlier comments about Okazaki-san. I know how much he has tried to help you… recently. I need to meet him some day and express my thanks properly. It is my honest belief that Ichinose-san... and Okazaki-san care for you very much and only have your best interests at heart."

"Ryou," her father told her, "when all the conversation is done, you should give your sister your honest opinion. That is all that should be asked of you and it is no less than your duty as her beloved sister."

"Kyou," her father turned back to her, "Listen to what your friends have to say. Listen to your sister. Listen to your mother and me. Listen to your heart. Consider everything and choose. It is your decision and nobody else's..." He paused for a moment as if considering, but continued, "not even mine."

 _It is your decision and nobody else's… not even mine._

 _It is your decision and nobody else's… not even mine._ Kyou had to play those words back through her addled mind several times before she fully understood. The years of arguments and justifications were over. The motor scooter issue. The kindergarten teacher issue. The college choice issue. All the things that Kyou wanted to do one way… and her father wanted something else for her... He was telling her that he would accept whatever she decided now. He was accepting who she had become. He was accepting her.

Kyou ran past her sister and mother into her father's arms. Years of constant battling of wills, bickering, and bruised egos were washed away and forgiven on both sides as they hugged and cried.

"I only ever wanted you to be proud of me, Daddy." Kyou cried into her father's shoulder.

"I've always been proud of you," he replied, "even when we fought, even when we disagreed… I was always proud of you."

.

 **Monday morning, May 26 - Male Student Dormitory**

* * *

Youhei felt his whole body shake. He opened his eyes and there was a flashlight shining in his face.

"I didn't do it!" he cried out, "I was in my room all night!"

"It's still night," A familiar voice said to him, "and you're still in your room." The flashlight aimed at the wall and Youhei could see from the reflected light that it wasn't a cop now. It sort-of looked like a girl with long lavender hair...

"Kyou?" Youhei said after a few more moments of clarity infused his groggy brain.

"Move your ass," Kyou threw his gym clothes at him, "I don't want to be late."

"Late?" Youhei said while putting clothes on under the sheet, "Late for what?"

"Basketball practice."

They were halfway up the long walkway to the school when Youhei stopped walking as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Wait a minute!" he cried out, "The competition is over. We won. We don't need to do this early morning practice crap any more."

"Don't need to," Kyou agreed and handed a can of ice coffee to him to encourage him up the hill, "want to."

"Why?" Youhei wanted to scream at her but the can of ice coffee did look good just then.

"We're going to start working out with Tomoya instead of those two first years from now on." Kyou started walking again.

"Okay," Youhei caught up to her and after taking a swallow of his drink, again asked, "why?"

"Because," Kyou smiled as she clapped Youhei on the shoulder, "if anyone is going to help Tomoya get his game back, it's going to be his two best friends."

"His two..." Youhei echoed as the realization hit him. Kyou just smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder like friends do. Real friends. Good friends. Nothing adversarial, no hidden meaning. Solid friends. He pumped his fist, "Yeah we are!"

"He's there for us," Kyou said with determination, "we're gonna be there for him."

"Damn straight we are!" Youhei went to high five Kyou and for a moment she only looked at him in surprise and didn't respond. He thought she was going to leave him hanging but she got a feral look on her face.

With a swing, she smacked his hand and issued a challenge, "Race you the rest of the way to the top!" Kyou got a better grip on the bags she was carrying.

"You're on!" Youhei gripped his own bag and the two friends took off running.

.

 **Monday afternoon, May 26 - Classroom 3D**

* * *

The morning had started off so wonderfully. Basketball practice was awesome. The three of them, Kyou, Tomoya, and Youhei moved like they had practiced being a three man team for years. The after practice breakfast had been splendid as usual. Even Ryou's breakfast tasted good, but she had to admit that she got a lot of help from Nagisa. Class had even been fun for once. Since Tomoya had been getting tutored by Kotomi, and Kyou had been going over Youhei's homework with him, the two of them and Ryou got to see the stunned looks on their classmates faces when they actually answered questions correctly and asked intelligent questions.

But then lunch came. Usually Youhei's favorite part of the school day, this one had been a disaster. They saw Nagisa in the hall before they got to the Drama Club room and she told them the bad news: the Student Council would not allow the sharing of counselors. Then bad went to worse when Nagisa fainted and had to be sent home. Ryou was so upset that the school let her leave as well - as long as she promised to stay at the Furukawa residence until her parents collected her from there. The rest of the group promised to come by when school was out.

Youhei and Tomoya returned to classroom 3D without their class rep. When they got back, they already heard ugly rumors flying.

"I heard Fujibayashi left the school at lunch."

"I heard she got suspended."

"What do you expect, she hangs out with delinquents and repeaters."

"Why don't you say that a little louder," Tomoya's hand closed over the student's hand and he began squeezing the knuckles painfully together. "I'm not sure I heard you right."

"Hey, leave him alone..." two students started to get up from their desks but Youhei tapped them on the shoulder and smiled.

"For health reasons, you should stay seated until Tomoya finishes his conversation." The implied threat worked and no-one else got out of their seats.

"What's the problem," one of the girls in the class tried to taunt Tomoya, "is Fujibayashi your girlfriend now?"

"No way," another girl laughed, "even Fujibayashi isn't stupid enough to date that loser." A few students laughed at the comment but they all died off when they noticed that it was Youhei that was laughing the loudest.

"Oh that's a good one," Youhei slapped his knee, "but you don't realize how funny it is yet. You see, now that Fujibayashi is not in the room, all the girls in this room combined aren't smart enough to be Tomoya's girlfriend." he got some dark looks from the girls in the room until he announced with an ear to ear grin, "Tomoya's girlfriend is Ichinose Kotomi."

"Liar!" one girl challenged while everyone else in the room gasped.

"Tomoya," every face in the room turned to the door when they heard Kyou's disapproving voice ask, "What's going on here?"

"Oh nothing..." Tomoya was interrupted by the student's cry for help.

"Class rep," he cried out, "he's hurting me!"

"Tomoya!" Kyou crossed half the classroom but stopped before doing anything, "if you're bullying him, Kotomi is going to be very upset."

"WAITAMINIT!" one of the girls in the class shouted then asked, "Okazaki-san really is dating Ichinose-san?"

"No," Kyou looked around at the smug looks on the girl's faces and read the room right. She gave it a two second pause for the full effect to hit the class then announced, "They are engaged to be married."

"WHAT?" all the girls in the room were on their feet as well as some of the boys.

"Now tell me what is going on here?" Kyou said to Tomoya while the rest of the room was in shock, "Did he insult Kotomi?"

"No..." Tomoya was a bit reluctant to tell Kyou what was really going on, but Youhei wasn't.

"Kyou-chan," Youhei sat on a near-by desk and pulled a student's translation dictionary out of an open satchel. He made a big show of handing the dictionary to Kyou as he said, "Tomoya just wanted this idiot to repeat the things he was saying about… your sister."

All the noise in the room suddenly went silent. It seemed like even the clock on the wall stopped ticking. Realizing the mistake he made by calling attention to himself, the tortured idiot tried to melt into the desk.

"Oh?" Kyou took the dictionary and looked down at the now cowering student, "I'd like to hear what you have to say about my sister as well."

"Perhaps I misheard him and he was concerned that she didn't come back from lunch." Tomoya began to relax his grip on the knuckles in his hand.

"Yes," the student looked back and forth between Tomoya and Kyou and pleaded, "Yes, that's it. I hope she's okay!" Just when other students were starting to make dismissive noises at their classmate backing down, Youhei spoke up.

"Oh that's right," he said with a mischievous smile, "when Tomoya and I came back in the room it seemed like everyone here was speculating about your sister."

Suddenly everyone was wanting to know what had become of their dear class rep. Tomoya had released the students hand and was looking around the room with Kyou to see if there was even one insincere face asking about Ryou.

"Not to worry everyone, not to worry!" Youhei gave the mortified student back her translation dictionary after he had pulled it back from Kyou and announced, "A student collapsed in the hall during lunch and our own wonderful Fujibayashi Ryou was swift to render aid."

"Is that true?" several people asked.

"It is true," Kyou backed up Youhei's report then asked, "Tomoya, as she will be with the student the rest of the day, will you collect her assignments and books at the end of the class?"

"Yes." Tomoya vowed.

.

 **Monday afternoon, May 26 - Resource Room**

* * *

The thrill of smacking down an entire classroom and getting away with it didn't last the rest of the afternoon and Youhei was in a blue mood by the time the final bell rang. Everyone else was going directly to the Furukawa bakery but Youhei wanted to get Yukine first. Even that didn't work out though. When he got to the resource room, there was one of the thugs in the room with Yukine and she was wrapping a bandage around his arm. Youhei helped with the dressing and bandage and soon the thug was resting more comfortably.

"Is he going to stay here?" Youhei asked.

"No," Yukine answered, "but I need to wait until the effects of the herbal tea I made him start working before he should leave." Looking at her boyfriend she asked, "Are you okay? You seem troubled."

"Troubled..." Youhei thought about it, "yeah, I guess I am."

"If you want something for a change of mood, there's an interesting book on charms." Yukine offered. A distraction sounded good to Youhei just then. He really didn't want to talk about the Drama Club issue in front of Yukine's guest anyway.

A few minutes, and several tries later, Youhei had two ten-yen coins standing edge-on one atop the other on the table. Yukine had him chant something three times.

"What does this charm do?" Youhei asked while looking at his handiwork at coin balancing.

"It's a charm that gets you locked in a gym equipment storage room with a girl." Yukine smiled.

"Eh?" Youhei looked up at Yukine as the blood drained from his face. Panic started to take him as his mind lunged to the idea of being locked in a confined space.

"Please imagine someone in your mind." Yukine continued, "It can't be anyone that knows about the spell so it can't be me though."

 _Tomoyo!_ Youhei immediately thought. He thought of the first girl that would be the best in a situation like that. Someone that would help him escape. Yeah, Tomoyo is strong, and smart, and fearless, and strong… She would have that room open in no time.

"There is a way to undo the charm too." Yukine kept reading from the small pink book, "You strip to your waist and chant _Curses are nothing to me_ three times."

"Seriously?" Youhei suddenly felt relieved knowing that if this silly spell ever worked, he would have a way out regardless of what girl he was stuck in a room with.

"As serious as a little pink spell book can be." Yukine laughed, "So, are you ready to tell me what is really bothering you?"

"It's… the Student Council..." Youhei looked around Yukine at the thug that appeared to be asleep.

"Ah," Yukine asked, "Is this about their decision not to let the Choir Club and the Drama Club share the same advisor?"

"Yes," Youhei looked at his girlfriend in wonder, "how did you know?"

"I had lunch with Rei-chan today," Yukine smiled, "she was also very upset about it."

"Any ideas on a way to change their minds?" Youhei asked.

"Well the elections are coming up." Yukine offered, "A new council may have a different decision."

"Yeah… I guess." Youhei tried to think of how that could help the Drama Club.

"Youhei-kun," Yukine nodded to the recovering thug behind her and suggested, "I think he will be about an hour more. Why don't you take a walk and see if anything comes to you. Meet me at the gate in an hour and we will walk home."

.

 **Monday afternoon, May 26 - Gym Equipment Storage Room**

* * *

Youhei had hardly begun his walk when he ran into Tomoyo carrying too may volleyballs and needing help. He thought about how much he had changed in the last couple of months when he automatically started helping her out. He noticed the watchful eye she gave him at all times but he had to admit that he deserved that. With his own armload of balls, he followed Tomoyo into the gym equipment storage room.

Tomoyo had finished putting her armload of balls into the bin and was about to move aside for Youhei when the storage room suddenly got very dark and there was a distinct click sound.

"Ah!" Youhei gasped as he lunged around the isle of shelves full of sports equipment to get to the door. Part of him knew it would be too late but he had to try. After nearly colliding with the shelves he reached the door only to find it was locked.

"It is locked, isn't it?" Tomoyo asked from right behind him.

"Ah!" Youhei gasped in surprise. Damn, that girl could move fast… and quietly. If it hadn't been for her already crushing his ego with several painful demonstrations of her athleticism, the gasp might very well have been a scream.

"Yes," he tried the handle once again, "it is."

"Did you have anything to do with this?" she asked with so little emotion it was as if she were asking a grocer for the price of a particular vegetable. "Is this another one of your attempts to embarrass me?"

"No!" Youhei was about to yell at her for suggesting he was to blame, but realized that something like this would be exactly the kind of thing he would be expected to try and pull off. "No, I didn't but I understand why you would think that." Looking down at his hands he saw the hand that Fuko had clung to just the other day. The one that he held to make sure he wouldn't forget her on the way to visit Nagisa. The one he let go of when he was so close to his goal.

He remembered Fuko.

HE REMEMBERED FUKO!

Looking around wildly he Peered into the dark corners of the room and atop the shelves. He looked for the presence of any of those ridiculous wooden starfish. He was about to call out for her when he noticed Tomoyo. At a casual glance, she looked relaxed and even disinterested. But he knew better. At this school, no-one had seen her in action more than him. Her stance was ready. Arms and those terrible legs were in position. She was ready to pounce if he did anything stupid.

"Are you okay?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah," he said as he dropped to the floor and quietly sat down. "I'm done challenging you."

"You've said that… something like that before." she relaxed her stance only a little, "This better not be another one of your tricks."

"You!" again, he was about to yell at her when he suddenly remembered the charm that Yukine had him perform. "Oh no..."

"What?" Tomoyo was more relaxed now. She was reading his body language as well and it was obvious that he was not up to a sudden attack from that vulnerable position. He did, however look like he just remembered something important and troublesome.

"Do you believe in magic?" he seemed to ask out of the blue.

"What?" Tomoyo tensed a little more with that bizarre question. Maybe he was up to something after all.

"It's just..." Youhei seemed to be at a loss for words, "Yukine-chan showed me how to cast a charm and I just realized I may have misunderstood what the charm was for."

"A charm… seriously?"

"Yeah."

"No, I don't believe in magic." But she did believe in curiosity, "What was the spell for?"

"To get locked in a closet with a girl." Youhei answered in monotone. He was sure that he would end up being her punching bag or perhaps a battering ram at any moment.

"That sounds fairly specific for a magic spell." Tomoyo pondered, "I thought they were supposed to be vague so the magician could claim their magic worked if anything happened that matched the spell."

"Heh," Youhei chuckled, "it is more specific than you think."

"What do you mean?"

"It allowed me to pick the girl."

"Oh?" She thought through what he had just said. "And, you picked me?"

"Yes." Youhei was trying to stay loose. From experience he knew that it always hurt more if he tensed up before she thrashed him.

"Why?" Tomoyo couldn't keep the curiosity out of her voice.

"Like I said, I misunderstood the charm. I thought it was some kind of protection spell so that if I got locked in a closet, I could pick one person that wouldn't panic and actually be useful in getting out of the room." After a sigh he continued, "I didn't think of the romance angle until just now."

"Oh." Tomoyo didn't look at all angry at his admission. In fact, she looked a bit sad to Youhei as she asked, "Who would you have picked for the romance angle?"

"Well," he felt the land mines all about him and was about to answer 'Fuko' but a last look at her face told him that she needed to hear something else. _Oh what the hell_ , Youhei thought to himself, _one more thrashing by that girl won't kill me._ She was looking down and that long hair was obscuring her face but he looked up at her at where her eyes should be if she were looking back at him and told her, "I would have still chosen you."  
"What?" Her head snapped up but he didn't see the anger he had expected, "Why me?"

"Because you're a beautiful honor student, and I'm a delinquent, and magic is stupid."

"You..." Tomoyo stammered, "you think I'm..."

"Stop." Youhei said with finality before the situation became more difficult.

"What?" Tomoyo looked on the verge of tears.

"First of all," Youhei scratched his head, "I think Yukine has a lot on her mind right now. We just started going out and she has me cast a spell like this? What was she thinking?"

"And secondly, you may be the last chance to save the Drama Club." Youhei said quietly while staring at a dark corner of the room.

"I don't see..." Tomoyo's tears turned to confusion by this sudden non-sequitur.

"If you win the election, you could sway the student council to allow the Drama Club to share an advisor with the Choir Club."

"I don't see how that would affect you..." Tomoyo said.

"Well," Youhei looked at her bewildered face and explained, "You're not going to get elected if you are seen hanging out with delinquents." He looked up when he felt hands on his shoulders.

"I don't ever want to be that person," she looked back into his eyes. Then, remembering what Tomoya had Kotomi doing when he was trying to get her to make friends, she said, "Hello, my name is Sakagami Tomoyo from class 2A. I want to become the Student Council President. Will you be my friend?"

Youhei was stunned. He knew where those words came from and the meaning was not lost on him. Until now, nothing he did seemed to convince her that he had reformed himself and was no longer trying to be her nemesis. Youhei realized that this meant that she had somehow decided to forgive him. He did wonder why, but he didn't question it.

"Hello, my name is Youhei Sunohara from class 3D. I..." he tried to think of something that he was interested in that wasn't trivial, or embarrassing. Realizing that the only things he really enjoyed any more were things that would get him in trouble with this girl he sighed and continued, "I used to really like soccer. Will you be my friend?"

.

"Yu-chan," Youhei said as he started walking beside her on the long walkway back down from the school, "I think you may be nuts."

"Oh?" Yukine smiled as if it was a complement.

"Yeah, that spell thing we did…" he told her, "I ended up getting stuck in the gym equipment storage room with Sakagami Tomoyo!"

"Really, that's amazing!" Yukine smiled.

"Amazing?" Youhei gaped, "I thought you'd be upset."

"Isn't she running for President of the Student Council?"

"Um, yes… but..." Youhei was losing track of why Yukine was nuts.

"I notice you don't look beat up." Yukine observed, "Are you friends now?"

"Yeah..." Youhei looked at his girlfriend with wide eyes now, "okay… maybe not nuts. But you are spooky. Definitely spooky."

"Is spooky okay?" Yukine asked cheerfully as she took his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I…" Youhei luxuriated in the feel of the pretty girl on his arm, "I can get used to spooky."


	14. Chapter 14 - Reinforcements

**Monday afternoon, May 26 – High School classrooms**

* * *

Tomoya had originally planned to take Ryou's book-bag and the list of assignments that she would need to complete, to the Furukawa bakery and deliver it himself. After class was over he would get Kotomi from her classroom and they would go there together. But Kyou had caught him in the hall and insisted that she would take care of her sister… and it was more important for him to get back to Kotomi's place and hit the books. Her message was correct if unwelcome. He had just finished school for the day and a longer walk to get back to more studying at Kotomi's would have been a nice break.

Something occurred to him after Kyou had already walked away with Ryou's book-bag. Kyou sounded more like her old self than she had in a long time. He thought back to the morning's basketball practice when Kyou and Youhei had surprised him by showing up and demanding to help with the basketball therapy and practice with him. She had sounded like her old self then too. Tomoya hoped that this was real and not Kyou again putting a mask in front of her pain again. He needed to watch her more closely, and see if she was really getting better or if she was hiding her distress. The problem was that they had no classes together, so the only time they would see each other would be the morning practice and lunch.

"Tomoya-kun." Kotomi called out when it appeared that Tomoya did not see her even though he was looking her way.

He jumped when he heard her voice then suddenly saw her standing right where he had been looking. Kotomi was right in front of him. He had been so deep in thought he had not seen her approach.

"Kotomi-chan." Tomoya finally replied.

"Tell me what is on your mind." she said as she turned to walk toward the building's entrance.

"It can wait," Tomoya told her, "I still have to consider a few things before I am ready to talk about it. But you look like you're thinking about something too. Are you ready to tell me what's on your mind?"

"Yes," Kotomi answered, "but I am afraid what I have to say may complicate your thought process as it will give you something to think about as well as a decision to make."

"That's okay," Tomoya told her as they got to the shoe cubbys and put on their shoes and stored their slippers. "Mine can wait, let me hear what you've got. It might even help me figure out my problem."

"Okay," Kotomi waited until they were outside and walking toward the main gate and the long sidewalk down the hill. "I want you and Kyou-chan to move into the Ichinose house immediately."

"What?" Tomoya's surprised voice was raised enough that several other students in the area looked to see what the commotion was.

"I have two reasons for this request." she explained, "This can be a trial run to see if we can live in the same residence or if we are incompatible. I believe it would be in everybody's best interest to discover this now instead of finding out after we are on the other side of the world."

"True enough," Tomoya had to agree with the first reason, "what is the second reason?"

"After the summer break I want all of us to only speak English in the house." Kotomi explained, "An immersion technique is one of the best for attaining fluency."

"Ouch," Tomoya winced, "Kyou isn't going to like that."

"I believe she will see the logic in it." Kotomi said confidently.

"We'll see." Tomoya wondered whether Kyou's logic could be counted on to hold her emotional response at bay.

"Did this help with your problem?" Kotomi asked.

"Actually… yes." Tomoya smiled and scratched his head, "I wanted to figure out how to spend more time with Kyou so I can see if her recent emotional improvement is real or if she is hiding her depression again. So if your plan works, it takes care of my problem."

"Improvement?" Kotomi prompted.

"Yeah," Tomoya described his observations, "Just a little while ago and and at basketball practice this morning, she seemed like her old self. More confidence and less guilt. So, if she agrees to move into your house, we could both observe her."

"Excellent," Kotomi put her hand in Tomoya's and said, "I like it when we solve problems together."

.

 **Monday night, May 26 – Furukawa Residence**

* * *

Nagisa was under several blankets on her futon in the middle of the floor in her room and she still felt cold. She shivered in her sleep even though the thermometer showed she had a significant fever. Next to her, still wearing her school uniform, Ryou had fallen asleep still holding Nagisa's cold hand with her head resting on Nagisa's lap.

"Ryou-chan," Sanae softly called the lavender haired girl's name. She needed to wake Ryou and talk to her but wanted to let Nagisa sleep. Reaching down to Ryou's face, she moved a bit of hair out of the her eyes and fondly looked on her sleeping countenance. She was a very lovely girl and a dearer, closer friend for her daughter – indeed, better than she could ever have hoped for. She tried again as she stroked her fingers through the short lavender hair, "Ryou-chan?"

"Um… yes?" Ryou's eyes opened a little but she didn't move.

"I need you to come into the kitchen for a few minutes." Sanae quietly told her.

"But... Nagisa-chan..." Ryou protested.

"She will be okay for a fey minutes," Sanae encouraged her, "I have some good news for you."

"Eh?" Ryou lifted her head and looked up at Sanae with hopeful eyes. It broke Sanae's heart to see the evidence on Ryou's face that she had been crying. Reluctantly, Ryou let go of Nagisa's hand and pushed it back under the blankets to keep it warm. Then she quietly got up and followed Sanae into the kitchen.

"I have been on the phone with your parents." Sanae told Ryou as she was sitting down at the table.

"Oh?" Ryou looked around for a clock and wondered when they would demand that she come home. The idea of leaving Nagisa like this was not something she wanted to think about.

"We both agreed that it will be okay for you to stay over here as much as you like, as long as you don't miss any more school and you get all your homework done." Sanae told the despondent girl and watched her come alive with a smile on her face.

"Really?" Ryou couldn't believe that her parents had agreed to this.

"I had to assure them that Nagisa's affliction was not contagious and that I would make sure you did the promised homework," Sanae told her, "but they have agreed to let you decide when you are ready to go home."

"Oh..." Ryou launched herself into Sanae's arms and said, "Thank you so very much mama!"

"Mama?" Sanae held the emotional girl and smiled warmly at the sound of that.

"Oh!" Ryou went stiff in Sanae's arms as she realized the blunder she had made, "I'm sorry!"

"No no no!" Sanae held her more tightly, "I like it. When you said that, it was a surprise - but it made me feel warm through and through." Hearing Sanae say that made Ryou feel warm herself. Nagisa had a truly amazing family. They really made her feel part of the family when she was with them.

"Oh no!" Ryou sat up in alarm, "I left my books and everything at school."

"Don't worry," Sanae smiled, "Kyou-chan dropped off your book bag earlier today and she said Tomoya-kun included a copy of his notes from the class."

"Onee-chan was here?" Ryou wondered why she didn't visit Nagisa.

"Yes," Sanae told her, "she watched the two of you for several minutes but she didn't want to wake you up." Seeing the understanding on Ryou's expression, Sanae told her, "So, you get to work on your assignments and I will whip up something for you to eat."

"Thank you… mama." Ryou blushed but she knew it made Sanae feel good and, being honest with herself, it made her feel good too.

.

 **Tuesday morning, May 27 – High School Gym I**

* * *

Tomoyo was enjoying the peace and solitude of the early morning hours amongst her beloved sakura trees on the path to the school. The morning air was still cool as she watched the gradually brightening sky off in the distance. She didn't always make it out for these mornings and it was past the time that the sakura trees were at their most beautiful, but she made the trek as often as she could. At this time of the morning there was no-one else about and she could relax amongst the trees in a way that she never could with students and teachers around. She felt more at ease here than she did even in her own home. It reminded her of her loneliness, but it was an acceptable trade off to be able to relax so completely.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of people running toward her. Instantly, she was alert and putting herself into a defensive posture as she tried to tell how many and where they were coming from. From the sounds of the footfalls on the path, there were two of them and they were coming from downhill. They were also in a pretty hard run. Tomoyo concealed herself as best she could and waited the few seconds it would take for them to get to her. The seconds ticked down and the two runners passed the tree she was behind and continued up the hill. Tomoyo considered that she might have been wrong to assume they were after her… but it could still be a trap. She glanced out from behind the tree and could tell that the second runner was Sunohara Youhei, even in the early morning dimness. The first runner was a girl with long hair.

 _So that's it._ She said to herself, _He's no longer picking on me because he's found a new target_.

Moving as quickly and quietly as she could, Tomoyo closed the distance to Sunohara and was about to drop him with a running kick when she noticed that the girl he was chasing was Fujibayashi Kyou. She considered that both of them were friends with Okazaki Tomoya but she didn't know if they were friends with each other. She judged it unlikely that even Sunohara would torment his friend's friend. She also found it unlikely that Sunohara could get away with tormenting Fujibayashi Kyou. She was known to be far more violent than Sunohara. Tomoyo pulled alongside Youhei as he continued to run up the hill.

"Good morning, Sunohara." she said conversationally.

"Ah!" Youhei lost his footing and cartwheeled into a tree on the side of the path.

"Youhei?" Kyou turned to the sound of the crash and saw an arm and a leg sticking out from the side of a tree. Then she saw Tomoyo also looking shocked and a little guilty. She turned on Tomoyo and challenged her, "Did he annoy you so much that you think you can attack him whenever you feel like it now?"

"I didn't touch him." Tomoyo said sadly, "I just said good morning to him."

"Oh," Kyou walked over to Youhei's unconscious body, "I guess he is a bit of a klutz."

"I'll gather up his book-bag." Tomoyo offered. By the time she had put everything she could find back in the bag, Kyou had Youhei back on his feet. He still looked unsteady and it didn't look like he would be ready to resume running any time soon.

"I'm sorry I startled you, Youhei." Tomoyo offered as she held his bag out to him.

"Hey!" Youhei was about to yell at her for sneaking up on him but he could see that she already looked pretty miserable and she did apologize. "I'll be okay in a while but I'm pretty dizzy now so you'll have to stand in for me."

"Huh?" Tomoyo didn't know what he was talking about, "You want me to run with Fujibayashi Kyou?"

"Not likely," Kyou retorted.

"No," Youhei explained, "we are on our way to the gym where Okazaki has his basketball therapy every morning. Yesterday we said we would be there to help but I'm pretty messed up now."

"Is this another attempt to get me to play basketball with the Drama Club?" Tomoyo asked.

"No, we're all done with that." Youhei told her, "This is a therapy thing that Kotomi set up to help with Okazaki's injury."

"I thought it was his face that got injured?" Tomoyo said as she looked accusingly at Kyou.

"What?" Kyou cried out.

"Not that injury," Youhei explained, "he hasn't been able to raise his right arm over his head since the end of middle school so he wasn't able to join the basketball team when he got here."

"We don't need her," Kyou said, "she is obviously too busy. I can do it all this morning."

"We need two people, Kyou." Youhei argued.

"It's okay," Tomoyo said, "I have time this morning. I'd be glad to help."

"Hmpf." Kyou looked daggers at Youhei but he seemed pleased for some reason.

Youhei really was still dazed from his impact with the tree and Kyou ended up helping him walk while Tomoyo carried their bags. When they got to the gym, Youhei sat on the bench with Kotomi while Kyou and Tomoyo walked onto the court to assist with Tomoya's morning therapy.

"Sunohara-san. What happened?" Kotomi asked as she saw the bruising on Youhei's face and noticed that he wasn't walking well.

"I'm okay. I just tripped when Sakagami-san surprised me."

"I see," Kotomi watched Tomoyo's interaction with Kyou and Tomoya on the court for a minute before commenting, "she seems to have made friends with Tomoya-kun and Kyou-chan." Kotomi then looked at Youhei as he made a sound like a strangled cough.

"Um, no." Youhei countered her observation, " Okazaki may get along with Sakagami-san, but I doubt Kyou ever will."

"Why is that?" Kotomi was curious.

"I..." Youhei's forehead wrinkled as he thought about it, "I'm not really sure."

The two of them watched the rest of the basketball practice. Now that Youhei had pointed it out, Kotomi noticed that when Kyou and Tomoyo passed the ball to each other, it was always thrown with more force than it needed to be, and certainly harder than they were throwing to Tomoya. She was concerned that if either of them accidentally threw the ball at Tomoya with that much force, and he wasn't prepared for it, he could re-injure his arm and cause a set back in the therapy. She thought about interrupting the practice and discussing her fear, but the time for the session ended anyway. The end of the session had surprised her. Normally Ryou and Nagisa would have arrived by now… She remembered that Nagisa had gone home after collapsing and it looked like she was still not well enough to return. Kotomi decided to ask Ryou about Nagisa's condition when she saw her at lunch.

Tomoya hurried over to Kotomi and uncharacteristically bent over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Then he whispered, "Go to the showers with them. If you're not there, they might kill each other."

"Eep!" Kotomi was scared. Surely Tomoya-kun was not asking her to do this. She looked up at Kyou and Tomoyo and could see the murderous intent in Kyou's eyes and confident defiance in Tomoyo's. Kotomi would like to have refused but there was no-one else there that could go into the girl's showers with them. She stood and started walking toward the showers as if she were walking to her own execution.

Tomoya and Youhei both knew that she was scared but they couldn't see any other options either. Neither of them could go into the girls' showers and there was no-one else there since Nagisa and Ryou hadn't shown up. He asked Youhei to watch all their stuff and ran off to the boys' showers intending to get cleaned up as quickly as possible.

Moments after Tomoya had disappeared into the boy's locker room, Youhei got a big smile on his face. The cavalry arrived.

.

 **Tuesday morning, May 27 – Girl's Locker Room I**

* * *

In the girl's locker room there hadn't been much of a problem so far, as Tomoyo's and Kyou's lockers were in different aisles. Kotomi was so scared, she was running on autopilot. Before she knew what she had done, she was undressed and walking toward the showers. She didn't know what to do. Other than throw herself onto Kyou and hold on as long as possible, she had no idea how to handle this. Each of these two girls possessed levels of violence that frightened her to her core. Together they were terrifying. She knew that she would be unconscious after a single blow from either of these powerful girls and then there would be nothing to stop the carnage. But they were both friends of hers, and she had to try. The fear and the helplessness of not knowing what to do petrified her and brought tears to her eyes. Knowing that Tomoya could not help her here, she was starting to panic when she heard a familiar and welcome voice coming into the shower area.

"Kotomi-senpai, it is good to see you again." Turning, Kotomi recognized the resource room girl walking toward her with a calming smile.

"Miyazawa-chan," Kotomi gasped, "it is good to see you too." She felt relieved that someone else was there, but she also felt the urge to warn her that it could be very dangerous to be in here just now.

"Sakagami-san," Yukine turned to the girl with the long powder blond hair and said, "Youhei-kun asked me to take care of you since you took his place in the practice this morning. I will wash your back."

"I do not require anyone to wash my back." Tomoyo stated.

"Nevertheless," Yukine returned, "my boyfriend has asked this of me, so it will be done… unless you want to stop me by hurting me?"

"No." Tomoyo looked at Yukine with a puzzled expression. Then she looked at the angry Kyou and the frightened Kotomi and said, "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I will wash your back!" Kotomi squeaked to Kyou as Tomoyo and Yukine went off to the other side of the bath area. Kyou looked at Kotomi with the same expression she had just been glaring at Tomoyo with.

"I don't need..." Kyou stopped as Kotomi flinched and closed her eyes but stayed where she was. Kyou could see from her posture that Kotomi was expecting to be hit… by Kyou. Kyou's anger left her and she knew she had gone too far… again. Kyou took a deep breath and said, "Oh Kotomi… what would I do without you?"

"Huh?" Kotomi opened her eyes to see Kyou giving her a lopsided smile. Kyou's anger was gone and it was as if Kotomi was looking at an entirely different person. Kotomi's bravado gave out along with her legs. "Oh Kyou-chan..."

"Kotomi!" Kyou caught the purple haired girl before she hit the hard tile floor and helped her to a shower seat. "Are you okay?"

"I'm better." Kotomi talked nervously, "Sometimes you can be pretty scary. But I knew I had to save you."

"Save me?" Kyou looked into Kotomi's purple eyes and asked, "From what? And why?"

"I didn't want you to make a terrible mistake. I didn't want you to get hurt or do something that will fill you with sadness and regret." Kotomi implored her friend then asked, "Why do you hate Sakagami Tomoyo so much?"

"I don't..." she started to deny the hate but she couldn't. She knew she had acted on her dislike for the girl from the moment they saw each other on the path to the school. "I guess… it's cause I'm jealous."

"Jealous?" Kotomi asked.

"Yeah," Kyou hung her head and felt Kotomi start washing her back while she admitted her weakness, "she has a monster inside her just like me. But she has control. She doesn't screw up like me. I wish I had that kind of control so I wouldn't hurt… people." There were a few minutes of silence between them while Kotomi worked up the courage to tell Kyou that she had once again been looking into things that would affect Kyou's future.

"I have done my research and I believe I know what will help you achieve that goal, but it will be difficult." Kotomi said in a rush, as she rinsed Kyou's back, "Will you work hard for it?"

"I will… what is it?" Kyou said in excitement.

.

 **Tuesday morning, May 27 – High School Gym II**

* * *

"Where are the girl's?" Tomoya asked Youhei as he arrived back at the benches. He still had one of the towels and was drying his hair even as he considered trying to get help from… somewhere.

"They're still in the showers," Youhei said casually.

"I hope Kotomi is okay," Tomoya said, "I felt rotten sending her in there with those two."

"Oh, Kotomi will be fine." Youhei said confidently, "I sent in reinforcements."

"Eh?" Tomoya asked, "Did Fujibayashi get here?"

"Better," Youhei looked up at Tomoya and smiled, "Yukine-chan!"

"Oh." Tomoya had been impressed with the resource room girl since the first time they met but this might be too much for her. Tomoya was about to ask if Youhei thought Yukine was up to dealing with Tomoyo and Kyou when he saw the confidence in Youhei's expression. He felt better, but still worried for both Yukine and Kotomi.

.

 **Tuesday morning, May 27 – Girl's Locker Room II**

* * *

"So, you are Sunohara's girlfriend?" Tomoyo asked, "you know that he believes that you had something to do with the two of us getting stuck in the gym storage room."

"Yes," Yukine soaped up a washcloth and gently washed Tomoya's shoulders.

Tomoyo was quiet as she wondered whether Yukine's response meant that she was aware of what Youhei suspected, or if she was admitting that she did have something to do with the incident.

"I am Miyazawa Kazuto's sister." Yukine said quietly enough that only Tomoyo could hear. She could feel Tomoyo tense up as she finished washing her back. The leader of one of the rival gangs in the city, it was rumored that he was the only person that had a chance of defeating Sakagami Tomoyo in a fight.

"I see." Tomoyo said carefully, "You know that is all in my past. I am only here to be a normal high school student."

"As am I." Yukine smiled as she rinsed the soapy water from Tomoyo's back. "I only mention this to avoid any misunderstanding. I hope that we can be friends."

"Friends..." Tomoyo yearned for friendships like those she saw in the members of the Drama Club. That club had properties that bordered on magical. Loners found friends, delinquents became better students, even the emotionally erratic Fujibayashi Kyou seemed to have found acceptance in that group. Perhaps… "Is there something you want from me?"

"I understand your question." Yukine said softly as she pulled her hair out of the way so Tomoyo could now wash her back, "Our backgrounds… the worlds we come from don't often have friendships without favors or prices. But in this group it is different. The friendships are genuine. It is a pleasant feeling that I have never known and I treasure it."

"But they do want something from me." Tomoyo was downcast.

"You speak of the The Drama Club problem." Yukine told her, "It is true that they desperately need your help to save the Drama Club for Furukawa Nagisa, but believe me when I tell you that their friendship is unrelated to that request."

"What do you mean?" Tomoyo asked.

"If you do not get elected and therefore cannot help them, they would still be your friend." Yukine explained, "If you do get elected and try but fail to help them, they would still be your friend. If you told them that you have no interest in being their friend, they would still ask for your help with the Drama Club. You see, they are unrelated."

"Why?" Tomoyo could tell that Yukine wasn't trying to mislead her or trick her into anything, "Why would they want to be friends with someone like me?"

"Someone like you?" Yukine answered, "When they look at you they see an admirable person gifted in mind and body. All the faults you see when you look in the mirror are defects in your own vision. When you learn to see yourself the way they see you, you will be a happier person."

"I don't think Sunohara or Fujibayashi will ever feel that way." Tomoyo challenged.

"You're wrong." Yukine looked into Tomoyo's surprised eyes, "Sunohara stopped picking on you some time ago and actually admires you now. It is you that have not forgiven him. And it is not your faults that makes Fujibayashi Kyou upset with you, it is your success. She is jealous of something you posses that she feels she is lacking in."

"What is that?" Tomoyo was stunned by her classmates insight… if she was right.

"Self control." Yukine told her as she reached for a towel.

Tomoyo reached for a towel too but she had a hard time believing that Fujibayashi Kyou admired her self control. That was an area where Tomoyo felt she was the weakest. She had allowed herself to be provoked by Youhei in the halls of the school several times… and after swearing that she would never let that happen. Then again, she had never hurt a friend like Fujibayashi Kyou had…

"What will you do?" Yukine asked the powder blond as she toweled herself off.

"I have an idea," Tomoyo said as she looked across the room at Kotomi. The lesson she learned from Kotomi worked before, maybe it would work one more time.

Kotomi and Kyou were toweling off when Kotomi looked up and saw Tomoyo, followed closely by Yukine, striding toward Kyou and Kotomi. For a moment, she was afraid that a fight might still occur, but there was something about Tomoyo's countenance that said this was not going to end in violence. Kyou must not have seen it that way though. Kotomi noticed how Kyou tensed up when Tomoyo got close to them.

"Fujibayashi Kyou," Tomoyo said clearly to the lavender haired girl, "Hello, my name is Sakagami Tomoyo from class 2A. I want to become the Student Council President. Will you be my friend?"

"What?" Kyou was stunned. Kotomi's eyes also went wide as she recognized the pattern as the one Tomoya had taught her ages ago… or was it last month?

"I don't know why we are fighting and I don't want to fight with you any more." Tomoyo told the lavender haired third year. "If I have wronged you somehow, please tell me so I can correct that offense."

"You..." Kyou's mouth was agape and eyes open wide in shock as she stared at the powder blond second year before her. That girl's self control and confidence was truly irritating. But Kyou had to admit, after what she had just confessed to Kotomi, the problem was really with her own self image and had nothing to do with any of Tomoyo's actions. "You are not to blame."

Tomoyo said nothing but an eyebrow cocked up as she realized that Yukine had probably been right about Kyou's issue with her. She noticed Kyou suddenly stand up straight and face her.

"Hello, my name is Fujibayashi Kyou from class 3E. I want to better control my emotions. Will you be my friend?"

"I will," Tomoyo gave a slight bow to Kyou but, out of long habit, kept here eyes on her.

"I know this is sudden and even rude, but I wonder if you could do me a favor?" Kyou said to Tomoyo after she looked over at Kotomi.

"Yes?" Tomoyo answered suspiciously.

"You don't have to..." Kyou could hear the suspicion and realized it was probably a bad idea to bring it up, "Never-mind… we can find other arrangements. I'm sorry for asking." Kyou actually found herself hoping she hadn't just killed any chance at a friendship she may have had with the girl.

"Please," Tomoyo sounded genuinely interested, "I am pretty busy with the Student Council elections but if it is something I can do, I will try."

"Tomoyo-chan," Kotomi interjected, "Kyou-chan has promised Koumura-sensei to help Youhei-kun to overcome his delinquent ways as well as his image. She is doing this much in the same way that I have been working with Tomoya-kun. To this end, she brings him to school early to participate in the basketball practice therapy every school morning and she goes over his homework assignments with him."

"Impressive." Tomoyo nodded to Kyou. Kyou was stunned at how thrilled she was to have that complement from Tomoyo.

"Indeed," Kotomi agreed, "but I have arranged for Kyou to begin working with the Karate club in hopes that the discipline will help her with self control and confidence. The problem is that they meet at the same time in the mornings."

"I can't imagine that Fujibayashi Kyou needs any help with confidence, but the training will certainly help with self control." Tomoyo said.

"How can you be so sure?" Kyou asked Tomoyo.

"It is what helped me when I was out of control." Tomoyo stated. Kyou knew that she had to do this now… but there was still a problem.

"Still," Kyou said worriedly, "their leaders may not let me join since it is so late in the semester and… my reputation."

"If that happens, come and get me." Tomoyo told Kyou, "I believe that between the two of us, we can convince them that it would be a very bad idea to try to exclude you."

.

 **Tuesday morning, May 27 – High School Administration Building**

* * *

"Koumura-sensei," a lilting voice asked as Toshio heard his office door open.

"Ah," Toshio smiled as he took in the sight of the top student in the school, "I hear that you prefer to be called Kotomi-chan. Is that only amongst your peers, or..."

"Please call me Kotomi-chan as well." she reassured him.

"Would you care for some tea, Kotomi-chan?" Toshio offered, "It would be from a thermos as I do not have a proper tea set here."

"Thank you very much, sensei." Kotomi took a seat took the offered cup of green tea.

"What can I do for you Kotomi-chan?" Toshio asked.

"I want to make sure you are satisfied with some alterations to the arrangements that you had made with Fujibayashi Kyou."

"Oh?" Toshio listened as Kotomi explained everything that was going on with Kyou and Sunohara, and how it now involved Tomoyo and Yukine. Her descriptions were clear and concise if a bit antiseptic. Although, from what he knew of Kotomi, it was an amazing feat for her to be here alone and talking to him at all. Not too long ago, this discussion would have required Okazaki Tomoya behind her to give her support. And not long before that, it would have been a sheer impossibility. He must remember to bring this up in his next discussion with Kobayashi Jun.

"Kotomi-chan, what you have already accomplished with Okazaki, Sunohara, and Fujibayashi Kyou, is beyond my wildest hopes." Toshio smiled, "Of course I endorse all of these plans and wish all of you the best of luck."

"Thank you, sensei." Kotomi bowed.

"If I could ask a favor," Toshio said as Kotomi was getting up to leave, "in this job, I deal with the problems that students face or get into all the time. It does my heart a world of good to hear about the success stories too. Please come by from time to time and let me know how everything is progressing. And count on me if there are any problems that you think I can help with."

"I will," Kotomi promised, "and again, thank you, sensei."

.

 **Tuesday evening, May 27 – Furukawa Residence**

* * *

Ryou rushed from the school as soon as the bell rang. She realized how out-of-shape she was when she ran herself out of breath several times trying to get to the Furukawa Bakery as quickly as possible. When she finally got there, she charged through the bakery entrance hoping to see Sanae and hear good news, but she could tell from the haunted look in Sanae's eyes that there was no good news today. Ryou was actually a bit taller than Sanae but looked like a little girl as she gave Sanae a hug.

"Mama," she felt Sanae's tension, "how is she?"

"It's not good." Sanae had to tell her, "She has a temperature but she shivers like she is freezing. The doctor was here earlier and said it was the same as last time… but worse. There is no medical explanation for it." Dejectedly, Sanae added, "There is no cure."

"I'm here now." Ryou tried to give Sanae hope, "I will do what I can."

Entering Nagisa's room, she could see Nagisa buried under several blankets and still shivering. Nagisa was asleep and breathing in short pants like she couldn't catch her breath. She was also whimpering as if she were in pain or having a nightmare. Ryou had hoped she could do her homework next to Nagisa and they could chat and talk about their friends and what happened at school, but she quickly decided to do what she could for Nagisa now and get her homework done later.

In minutes, Ryou had hung up her school clothes in Nagisa's closet and changed into her pajamas. She slid under the blankets and cuddled up to her shivering friend. Even through the material of Nagisa's pajamas and her own, she could feel the chill from Nagisa's body. There was no medical reason why her head could be so feverish and her body could be so cold. Ryou hugged her dear friend's shivering body and tried to share her own heat. Moving even closer, she spoke softly into Nagisa's ear.

"I'm here now Nagisa. Please get well. I want you to be okay. I love you so much. This is your Ryou. I'm here for you now. I'm hugging you right now. I'm holding you in my arms right now. Can you feel my warmth? I want you to get better so much. I love you Nagisa. I love you so much… please get better, Nagisa." Ryou's tears started to fall but she kept her voice steady as she softly spoke this litany into Nagisa's ear over and over.

Furukawa Akio stood in the doorway to Nagisa's room and watched the two for almost half an hour. Several times he wanted to reach for a cigarette, then remembered that he was trying to give them up… and he wasn't supposed to smoke in the house. As annoyed as he was with his cigarette habit, and as worried as he was with Nagisa's health, his heart was warmed as he watched the dedication and love Ryou showed his daughter. He liked Ryou. He didn't know much about Ryou's wild-child twin sister, but in Akio's opinion, Ryou was amazing. Watching Ryou now reminded him of the love he showed his dying daughter when he ran into that clearing and begged for her life. He could hear that Ryou was saying something to his sleeping daughter. Although he couldn't make out the words, he had a pretty good idea what she was saying. It was, after all, the same thing he had said to Nagisa all those years ago when she was a child.

As he watched, he could see a change. Nagisa's breathing was less shallow and she seemed less tense. Soon after, the whimpering stopped and Nagisa finally seemed to be getting some restful sleep. Akio made a decision then and there. The rest of the world could go to hell, as far as he was concerned, Ryou was family.


	15. Chapter 15 - What Have We Done?

**Wednesday morning, May 28 – High School Classroom 3D**

* * *

Tomoya was paying attention to the lecture but he was also concerned about Ryou. She looked exhausted and her head would suddenly dip as if she were falling asleep at her desk. If it had been Youhei or himself acting like that, no-one would have noticed. But this was very uncharacteristic behavior for the class representative. Looking over at Youhei, they both silently agreed they were seeing the same thing and were both concerned about Ryou. Other students were starting to stare and the teacher even tried to get her to pay more attention by rapping on her desk as he walked by.

"Fujibayashi," the teacher asked after the third time she laid her head down on her desk, "Is there a problem?"

"Yes sensei," she looked up with tear streaked eyes.

"Well, spit it out." the teacher was bordering on exasperation with the unusual attitude from one of the star students in the room.

"Nagisa is dying and there is nothing I can do…" Ryou sobbed, "I've tried so hard, but..." Some students gasped but most simply looked around in confusion. Most of the students in their class didn't know who Nagisa was.

"Is this about a pet?" the teacher asked. Several students in the room gasped. Some looked away.

"Sensei!" Tomoya stood up as he said firmly, "The Class Rep is talking about a Furukawa Nagisa from class 3-B. Furukawa Nagisa is her… best friend."

"What?" the teacher looked shocked, "A student at this school is dying? I had not heard about this. This had better not be one of your jokes, Okazaki!" Ryou dissolved into sobs as the teacher fired back at Tomoya.

"No sensei," Tomoya assured the teacher in a quieter voice, "Furukawa Nagisa is a student in class 3-B. You can check if you like. If this was a joke, the class representative certainly wouldn't be a part of it."

"Very well," the teacher bowed to the class, "My apologies for my insensitivity about the health of a fellow student. Now, Okazaki-san, would you be so kind as to escort Fujibayashi to the nurses office. I don't believe she is in any condition to continue in class at this time."

"Yes, sensei." Tomoya started to gather up his things but Youhei stopped him.

"Don't worry about that. I'll bring your stuff to the nurses office at lunch." Youhei told Tomoya.

"Ryou's stuff too?" Tomoya asked as he dropped his books on his desk and quickly moved up the aisle to Ryou's desk.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Youhei waved him away, "Just take care of Ryou."

All eyes in the class were on Tomoya as he calmly walked from the back of the class up to Ryou's desk. When he got to her, he put a hand on her shoulder and caressed her as he softly spoke to her. "Ryou," Tomoya said as he moved his hand and gently laid it on her head , "Can you stand up? I'm going to get you to the nurses office. Don't worry about your books, Youhei will take care of all of that."

She didn't answer but her head finally lifted from where it lay on her desk. Moving like a primitive robot, she jerked into a sitting position and stood up. Her head was bowed and her movements were a bit erratic. Everything about the way she was moving concerned Tomoya. She looked like she was about to…

"Ahhhh!" several students in the class cried out as Ryou blacked out and fell. Tomoya lunged forward and grabbed at her. He wasn't able to keep her knees from getting bruised, but he was able to grab her before her head hit the floor. While still kneeling, he flipped her limp body over and held her close while supporting her head with his hand. When he stood up, he had Ryou in a princess carry with her unconscious head on his shoulder. Several girls in the class gasped as he turned toward the door. Before he could ask anyone to open the door for him, it was thrown open from the other side.

"Tomoya!" Kyou's eyes fell on her unconscious sister in Tomoya's arms and was stunned into silence even though her usual next line _what are you doing with my sister_ would have been valid this time.

"Kyou," Tomoya spoke confidently and sounded as if he was used to giving orders, "your sister blacked out. I am taking her to the nurses office. Walk with me."

"Yes." was all Kyou was able to say. She held the classroom door open for him as he passed through with his precious cargo. Then she hurried to catch up with him as he strode purposefully down the hallway.

The class was in stunned silence again as they watched the fearsome Fujibayashi Kyou obediently follow in Okazaki Tomoya's wake as he swept out of the room with their class representative in his arms.

In the back of the room, Youhei smiled as he watched his friend leave the room. Tomoya would never think about it or admit it if someone else brought it up, but just then he had cut a more moving and heroic image than the students, and even the teacher had ever seen in real life. Indeed, many thoughts in the room were now comparing what they had just witnessed with favorite scenes from movies or anime. Youhei waited several seconds for that image to burn into everyones mind before he interrupted the moment.

"Sensei," Youhei requested, "as I am not the best student in the class, I would like to ask that a better student make a copy of their notes for Fujibayashi Ryou. I will make sure the notes are delivered with the bag."

"Thank you Sunohara-san..." he was about to rebuke Youhei's request and suggest that the delinquent was just using this moment to get some useful notes, but something felt wrong about this being a deception. Or rather, something felt right about Youhei behaving in a genuine manner. "… are there any volunteers?"

Youhei was pleased as he saw over a dozen hands go up.

.

 **Wednesday morning, May 28 – High School Nurses Office**

* * *

"Well, I have to say I am glad to see you three together and on such friendly terms, although the reason for you being here is anything but happy." Toshio said as he entered the room where Tomoya and Kyou were watching over a sleeping Ryou.

"Thank you, sensei." Tomoya and Kyou said.

"How is Furukawa Nagisa?" Toshio inquired.

"Not good," Tomoya told the kind counselor what he knew," she stopped breathing last night. Fujibayashi gave her mouth to mouth resuscitation until medical services arrived with a breathing machine. If it hadn't been for Fujibayashi, Furukawa would be..." He couldn't finish the sentence but everyone knew what was unsaid.

"She's exhausted," Kyou said as she brushed her sleeping sister's short hair out of her face.

"Why did she come to school in this state?" Toshio asked.

"The deal with my parents," Kyou explained, "she could stay at the Furukawa's and help with Nagisa… stay by her side… until..." Kyou couldn't finish the sentence. Tears started falling like rain.

"Only if she didn't miss any school." Tomoya finished for Kyou.

"Okazaki, I have a feeling I know what her overprotective sister would say, so I want your opinion," Toshio asked, "Am I right in assuming that forcing Fujibayashi Ryou to go home and to school and limit her time with Furukawa Nagisa, would only destroy a perfectly good student?"

"Yes, sensei." Tomoya answered without hesitation.

"Tomoya!" Kyou knew that sentiment was probably right but she felt she should fight for her sister.

"It's true," Tomoya didn't look at Kyou but he said, "she would never forgive anyone that had to do with that decision, including herself. It wouldn't just destroy her as a student, it would destroy her."

"Hmpf!" Kyou looked away from Tomoya in anger.

"Fujibayashi Kyou," Toshio said to the obviously upset older sister, "I know you are thinking that Okazaki here is calling your sister weak, but I see it another way. Fujibayashi Ryou is a very caring and passionate person. All people yearn to love and be loved, but only the most passionate can love so deeply. Those people are rare; you may only meet one or two in your entire life. Most people fear to love so deeply, for the deeper you love the more you can be hurt. Okazaki is telling me that your sister was fearless in her love for her friend and now stands to be hurt very badly."

"I know," Kyou wiped the tears from her eyes, "I don't know why I'm so..." She felt Tomoya's arms around her, pulling her into a comforting hug.

"It's okay Kyou," Tomoya said to her, "I know." He held her while she cried for her sister, and for Nagisa, and for herself.

.

 **Wednesday lunch, May 28 – High School Classroom 3D**

* * *

Youhei wanted to grab his stuff and hustle out of the classroom when the lunch bell rang, like he always did. But today he would have to wait. He looked around wistfully watching as everyone else was leaving… Everyone else wasn't leaving. There were at least half a dozen students furiously writing at their desks and two girls were over at Ryou's desk doing something with her stuff. He was about to yell at them when he noticed that they were carefully packing her things away into her book bag. Another girl was timidly walking toward Okazaki's desk when a guy stopped her.

"No." he said firmly, "There may be… guy stuff. And… he has a girlfriend so it wouldn't' be right. I'll take care of Okazaki-san's stuff." The girl looked down and silently agreed with the sentiment. Then, as the boy started packing up Tomoya's desk, she handed something to Youhei.

"Sunohara-san," she blushed as Youhei took what appeared to be several folded-up papers, "I made a copy of my notes for Okazaki-san." She turned to head back to her desk but Youhei stopped her.

"Wait." he looked at the front and back of the papers then handed them back to the girl and said loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear, "You should put your name on this. Fujibayashi and Okazaki will want to know who to thank."

"I'm sorry." Youhei heard the guy that had been packing up Okazaki's desk. Turning, Youhei saw him handing over the bag and saying, "I'm sorry for believing rumors about you guys… doubting you guys."

"Suzuki, right?" Youhei asked as he took the bag.

"Yes." the surprised student answered.

"Sensei!" Youhei startled the student still standing next to him by shouting up to the front of the room where the teacher was still gathering his things.

"Yes… Sunohara?" the teacher answered with a tinge of suspicion in his voice.

"Since we don't know how long Fujibayashi may be out, I would like to nominate Suzuki-san here as the temporary class representative."

"What?" Suzuki cried out.

"Why is that, Sunohara?" the teacher could tell from Suzuki's reaction that this was not something he had just cooked up with the class troublemaker.

"It seems that he is honest and exceptionally reliable." Youhei returned the teacher's stare without flinching, "I admit I know nothing of his grades."

"His grades are good enough." the teacher turned his gaze on the shocked Suzuki and said, "Suzuki, please come by my office after school to review your duties."

"Yes, sensei!" Suzuki answered.

"Don't think I can't still be a troublemaker," Youhei said slyly and quietly, "Mister... Class... Representative."

.

 **Wednesday lunch, May 28 – High School Drama Club Room**

* * *

Youhei went to the nurses office only to find out that Furukawa Sanae had already taken Fujibayashi Ryou home and everyone had left. He was a bit ticked off that no-one had bothered to tell him. Lunch time was his favorite time of the school day and it was rapidly wearing on and he hadn't even gone by to buy any bread yet. One more stop at the Drama Club Room and he would have to just leave their stuff there and go get whatever was left at the lunch counter, or go hungry. Youhei did not like going hungry.

When he got to the Drama Club Room, he found Tomoya, Kyou, Kotomi, and even Tomoyo there. He wanted to yell at them, well two of them anyway, for not getting word to him about the change in plans but he could see that the room was already flooded in despair.

Tomoya and Kotomi were on either side of Kyou. They were comforting her as she cried. Kotomi didn't appear to be in much better shape. Even Tomoya and Tomoyo looked on the verge of tears.

"What's going on?" Youhei asked as he put down the bags he had been carrying.

"Youhei," Tomoyo's long powder blond hair whirled around her as she got up from the desks that had been pushed together where everyone was sitting. She quickly moved over to Youhei and spoke quietly to him, "When Nagisa's mother came to pick up Ryou, she had some bad news. There are fewer and fewer moments when she is lucid and sometimes she doesn't recognize the people in the room with her. This is the worst episode Nagisa has had since she was a child, and she almost died that time."

"But, she'll make it. Won't she?" Youhei felt his own despair growing.

"The last time, when she was a child, it was called a miracle that she made it." Tomoyo told Youhei, "Her parents are hopeful but they are preparing for the worst."

"The worst?" Youhei couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"She may not make it through the night." Tomoyo put her hand on Youhei's shoulder as she saw his sadness and fear growing, "she is not expected to make it to the weekend."

"No..." Youhei wanted to deny this reality. His mind flashed to the recent memory of Ryou and Nagisa together in the ferris wheel and happy. "This isn't fair! She's such a good person. She doesn't deserve this!" Youhei realized he was shouting when Tomoyo grabbed his face and looked severely into his eyes.

"Get a grip, Youhei!" she yelled at him, then more quietly she added, "Ryou and Kyou are already falling apart. They are your friends too and right now they need your strength."

"What..." Youhei wiped the tears from his eyes, "what can I do?"

"Go and tell Yukine," Tomoyo said the words she did not want to say, "tell her that you should go tonight if you want to visit Nagisa before… before it is too late."

Tomoya looked up when he heard Youhei screaming at Tomoyo. It was unintelligible but it sounded vicious and Tomoya was sure that any second now Tomoyo would have enough and would kick Youhei through a wall. But she didn't. Tomoyo crumpled to the floor in sobs as Youhei ran from the room. He was at her side in moments.

"Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" Tomoya asked as he helped her to her feet.

"I shouldn't be here..." Tomoyo started to leave but Tomoya grabbed her arm. Tomoyo reflexively went into a defensive posture and swept Tomoya's legs out from underneath him. He hit the floor with a painful grunt but he didn't let go of Tomoyo's arm. Her other arm was already drawn back for the second hit that would be to his face as he lay on the floor.

"You can hit me if you like," Tomoya looked calmly into her eyes, "but I am not giving up on you." In his peripheral vision, he could see Kyou behind Tomoyo with a baseball bat in her hands. She looked unwilling, but ready to knock Tomoyo's head for a base hit.

"What?" Tomoyo suddenly came to her senses and saw what she was doing. She lowered her fist and began to shake as she realized what she might have done.

"Tell me why you shouldn't be here." he said.

"I don't think Nagisa will make it. I gave up on her." Tomoyo fell to her knees again before she continued, "I'm not good enough to be Nagisa's friend. I'm not good enough to be a friend to any of you." Behind her, Kyou stepped back and away with the bat. She turned to walk back towards Kotomi.

"Kyou doesn't feel like she is good enough to be a friend of anyone in the group either," Tomoya told Tomoyo. Kyou stopped in her tracks in disbelief that Tomoya would say anything so personal to someone else. Then she heard Tomoya continue, "And yet, not a single one of us will let her go. She is our friend and we will never give up on her."

Kyou wanted to turn around an confront those words. Her jaw was trembling with conflicting emotions anger and love, fear and happiness. She felt like she would explode if he said another word. Looking up, she saw that Kotomi was right in front of her, still seated behind the collection of desks. Kotomi was looking at Kyou, purple eyes gazing into purple eyes.

"I don't feel like I deserve their friendship either." Tomoya admitted to Tomoyo, "and yet, they are my friends anyway. Every person in our group feels unworthy in some way."

"So..." Tomoyo said, "what you're saying..."

"What I'm saying is that your fear that you are not good enough to be our friend just means..." Tomoya pulled hard on Tomoyo's arm so that she fell onto him. His arm held her and his hand pulled her tear stained face into his chest as he said, "you are perfect to be our friend. And like our other friends, we will never give up on you."

Tomoyo did not fight being held. She did not fight the tears that came. She felt safe. Safe to let down her guard. Safe to unchain her emotions. Safe with friends she could believe in. She had not felt this kind of safe in a very long time.

"What is it with him?" Kyou stood behind Kotomi and watched as Tomoya held and comforted the sobbing powder blond girl.

"Tomoya is Tomoya." Kotomi said simply. Kotomi knew that compassion was the word that Kyou was looking for. Kotomi had recognized it in him a long time ago and she was glad to see that time had not diluted that element of his nature.

.

 **Wednesday afternoon, May 28 – High School Resource Room**

* * *

Youhei remembered looking into Tomoyo's blue eyes and screaming at her. How dare she say that about Nagisa. How dare she give up on Nagisa. Then he was running down the corridor and trying to remember how to get to the resource room.

"I need to see Fuko!" Youhei said as he burst into the resource room. "This is important. I need to see her now."

"What's wrong, Youhei-kun?" Yukine blinked in surprise at Youhei's agitation. She could see that this wasn't something he was angry about. He actually looked… afraid?

"It's about Nagisa," Youhei looked into Yukine's brown eyes and asked her, "Is Fuko here? Have you seen her?"

"No," a saddened Yukine sat down in her usual chair and told Youhei, "I haven't seen her in a while actually. I hope she is only mad at us because we are dating."

"Why would you hope that?" Youhei asked.

"The other explanation is worse," Yukine looked up, "Her body's health may have deteriorated and she is no longer able to manifest the ikiryo."

"Yeah," Youhei agreed, "that is worse." He looked around the room and decided to give it a try. "Fuko, if you can hear me, you need to know that Nagisa is dying."

"What?" both Yukine and Fuko's voices cried out. Yukine and Youhei turned to Fuko but she was looking at Youhei with a very angry expression.

"This is not a good joke to play on Fuko!" she screamed at Youhei.

"I'm not joking, Fuko." Youhei said without the usual bounce in his voice. It was clear to Fuko and Yukine that he believed what he was saying. "Fujibayashi Ryou has been staying with her the last couple of nights and despite all her efforts, Nagisa is just getting worse."

"What is wrong with Nagisa?" Fuko demanded.

"Nobody knows," Youhei told them what he had been told by Ryou and Tomoyo, "doctors have seen her and they don't know. They say there is no medical reason for her to be sick but she is dying anyway."

"Is there anything we can do?" Yukine asked.

"I don't think so," Youhei then told them, "but I came to get you and Fuko since this may be the last chance to see her before she..."

"Before she what?" Fuko cried out.

"Fu-chan..." Yukine reached out to Fuko but she jumped away from them.

"BEFORE SHE WHAT?" Fuko screamed at Youhei in defiance even as tears started to form in her eyes.

"Nagisa is not going to die, do not say it!" Fuko put her hands to her face to hide the tears streaming from her eyes. She felt Yukine's arms around her as she sobbed.

Youhei looked down and felt like a jerk for what he had screamed at Tomoyo before coming to this room. He was now guilty of exactly the same thing.

"We don't want her to die either, Fu-chan." Yukine consoled the diminutive girl, "She is our friend too."

"Fuko," Youhei's voice was soft and compassionate, "Do you want to visit Nagisa tonight?"

"You and Fuko already tried..." Fuko started to decline the offer but Youhei was insistent.

"This time we'll both go with you," Yukine told her.

"And I promise not to eat any of Sanae's bread." Youhei swore.

"Fuko wants to try!" Fuko looked at Yukine then at Youhei, "Fuko wants to go now!"

.

 **Wednesday evening, May 28 – Furukawa Residence**

* * *

Nagisa's room was full of people. She was sort-of sitting up as she leaned back into Ryou. She didn't have the strength to keep her head up so Ryou was holding her. Ryou's hand was in her friend's hair as she held her head up. The blankets were pulled up to Nagisa's neck since she still felt cold and would fall in and out of the uncontrollable shivers. She was awake for the moment and could look around the room to find the person talking. She didn't have the strength to talk though, and she didn't seem to respond to the words that were said. It wasn't a blank look that she wore. A blank look would have been an improvement. She looked like she was in constant pain.

Tomoya and Kotomi sat at one side of the futon where Nagisa lay and, strangely enough, Kyou and Tomoyo sat together on the other side. They had been talking about their school day and the plans they had for Nagisa when she got well and was able to go back to school with them. Without Nagisa being able to respond to them or even look like she understood the words they were saying, the conversation had fallen into despair and one by one, the saddened friends could not hold back the tears.

"I… have to get some water." Tomoyo got up hurriedly. She was not able to endure the unbearable sadness in the room any longer.

"I'll help you," Kyou went after Tomoyo. As soon as Kyou stepped out of Nagisa's room, she almost ran into the powder blond. Tomoyo was bowing to Furukawa Sanae who was in the hallway with Youhei and Yukine.

"My apologies Furukawa-sama," Tomoyo was saying to Nagisa's mother, "I was unable to..."

"I apologize too!" Kyou bowed beside Tomoyo and felt the disgrace of her cowardice. She felt the shame of deserting her friend. Her face reddened at the humiliation of being seen running from the room by her friend's grieving mother. She knew Tomoyo was feeling the same guilt.

"Please," Sanae's kind voice was music as her hands touched their heads affectionately, "I know how difficult it is and I am so grateful that you came to visit. In her whole life, she has never had friends like you before."

"Thank you very much." both girls stood and were hugged by Sanae.

"Now," Sanae tried to sound cheerful, "why don't you two go in the kitchen and make some hot tea for Nagisa and Ryou, and make some cold drinks for everyone else.

"Yes," they were both glad they were given something to do, "Thank you!"

"Okay you two," Sanae looked at Youhei, Yukine, and Fuko that she could not see, "when you go in there, Nagisa is awake now but don't be surprised if she doesn't respond to what you say. Also, she seems to try to look at whoever is talking so it confuses her if more than one person is talking at a time."

"We understand." Yukine answered for them.

"Good," Sanae backed away toward the kitchen, "Thank you both for coming. I'll be back with the girls when the drinks are ready." After Sanae had rounded the corner, the three friends faced Nagisa's doorway.

"Ready?" Yukine looked at Fuko and Youhei.

"Yeah." Youhei's spirit was subdued after what Sanae had just warned them to expect.

"Fuko is ready." the short girl said with her usual determination.

Tomoya was talking about the basketball practice and how he felt he was getting a little more flexibility in his right arm, when the new arrivals entered the room. Instantly, everyone noticed a difference. Nagisa's eyes swiveled to look at the people in the doorway even though none of them were talking.

"She's looking at us?" Yukine wondered.

"No," Youhei knelt next to Fuko then stood back up again, all the while watching Nagisa's gaze, "I think she is looking at Fuko."

"Fuko?" Ryou asked.

"Who is Fuko?" Kotomi asked. Tomoya also looked puzzled.

"Yu-chan," Youhei didn't answer their questions, "move away from Fuko and watch Nagisa's eyes to see who she follows." Youhei let go of Fuko's hand and stepped off to the right as Yukine stepped off to the left. Unlike Yukine, however, he didn't watch Nagisa's eyes. Since he wasn't holding Fuko's hand, he was playing it safe and wouldn't take his eyes off her.

"Hey guys..." Tomoya was about to say that this little game wasn't funny when he also noticed that Nagisa's gaze remained fixed on the seemingly empty doorway. Instead he turned to Ryou and asked, "Has this happened before?"

"Not while I was here." Ryou didn't know whether she should be happy or frightened at this new behavior. She was about to ask again who this Fuko was when she saw Youhei and Yukine walk back to the doorway and reach out their hands to… nothing. It looked like they were holding hands with someone that wasn't there. She blinked her eyes a couple of times and gasped when she thought for a moment that she saw a short girl with long hair and brown eyes looking back at her. At first, she was frightened, but there was something about the girl that seemed… familiar.

Yukine let go of Fuko's left hand so Youhei could lead her up Nagisa's left side and get her close to Nagisa's face. The room was hushed as everyone watched Nagisa's eyes follow the empty space behind Youhei.

"Try holding her hand," Youhei said to Fuko.

"You can't hold her hands," Ryou told them, "they're under the blankets and she is wearing mittens."

"Mittens?" Youhei asked. He wondered why anyone would be wearing mittens and under so many blankets on such a warm night.

"Her head is feverish," Ryou explained, "but the rest of her body is freezing. She actually has symptoms of frostbite starting on her fingers and toes."

 _Freezing?_ This sounded eerily familiar to Kotomi.

"Try touching her face," Yukine suggested.

"Fuko will try!" she used her free left hand and reached out to Nagisa's cheek. Youhei and Yukine nodded as they watched Fuko reach out to Nagisa's pale skin. Everyone else in the room was confused since they saw both of them nod but no-one seemed to be reaching out toward Nagisa's face.

At the moment Fuko touched Nagisa's face, many things happened.

Everyone was momentarily blinded by a flash of light that seemed to come from everywhere.

"Sanae!" Ryou screamed as she felt Nagisa's body go completely slack and she could hear the monitor beeping to alert them that Nagisa had stopped breathing again.

"Kyou-chan!" Kotomi screamed as Tomoya fainted and she could feel his body rapidly cooling down as it had that day in the park.

"Fuko!" Youhei and Yukine yelled. After their eyes cleared from the flash, they could not see their ikiryo friend anywhere. They could still remember her, but she had vanished. Looking around, they could see Ryou struggling to get the breathing machine attached to her unconscious friend, and Kotomi shaking Tomoya and begging him to wake up. Youhei and Yukine looked on this horrific scene, then looked at each other and wondered, "What have we done?"

.

 **Wednesday night, May 28 – Yoshino Residence**

* * *

A few kilometers across town, an answering machine at the Yoshino residence took a message. A hospital administrator left a message for Kouko. She needed to call, or come down to the hospital as soon as she got the message as her comatose sister had just had a heart attack and was being moved to intensive care.


	16. Chapter 16 - The Coming Storm

**Nighttime – The Illusionary World**

* * *

Tomoya recognized this place. A snowy plain under the bright clear stars. Fortunately, there was no wind as he was dressed in clothes appropriate for late spring and this place was cold enough without the wind chill. Still, if he didn't find something to protect him from the elements soon, he would freeze to death.

 _A cabin._ He remembered a cabin had been somewhere around here. The last time he was here he… no wait… they… He remembered now that there had been several of them. Tomoya looked around but he was alone this time. How is it possible that they had been able to find the cabin in snowfall last time and he couldn't see it now on a clear night? He could see that there was a high point off to his left. It looked to only be several hundred meters away and the run should help warm him up.

Several minutes later, he was at the top of the rise. The distance had been more than he had guessed but the run did warm him up even though his shoes and the lower half of his pants were now soaked in freezing slush. If it hadn't been such a cold night, he would have enjoyed looking at the stars. It was a truly spectacular view, but he was already beginning to shake from the heat loss. Scanning the horizon, he saw no artificial light… and no sign of a cabin.

"Hellooooooooooooo!" Tomoya yelled as loud as he could. He waited several minutes to see if he could hear a reply but there was nothing in the cold air for him, not even an echo of his own voice.

"Helloooooooooooo!" Tomoya tried again a different direction. The shakes were affecting him to the point that he could not stop his teeth from clattering. He also realized when he almost tripped that he was unable to feel his feet. He turned to try yelling in a new direction but lost his footing and fell into the snowy slush. Tomoya tried to stop himself from sliding down the hill, but his legs weren't doing what he wanted and his hands felt like unresponsive clubs. As he slid head first down the hill, the freezing slush covered his body and head. The cold was so intense that he couldn't take a breath. His last thought as he careened down the hill was a hope that something would stop him before he got to the bottom. His wish was granted in the form of an outcropping of rock. He lost consciousness when his head impacted the rock.

.

 **Wednesday night, May 28 – Furukawa Residence: Nagisa's Room (continued)**

* * *

One would have thought that there were two large cocoon's in Nagisa's bedroom. At Ryou and Kotomi's urging, Sanae had gathered up every blanket she could find and wrapped them around the two groups. Ryou, Youhei, and Yukine were wrapped up with Nagisa in the first cocoon. Tomoyo, Kyou, and Kotomi were wrapped up with Tomoya in the second cocoon. Akio was in the storage shed digging through the winter storage boxes looking for the electric blankets and portable heaters.

"Let me know if you get too hot in there." Sanae said to the three friends under the blanket with her daughter.

"Too hot isn't the problem," Youhei said through chattering teeth, "Nagisa is so cold, she's making me cold."

"This..." Ryou said through her own chattering teeth, "this shouldn't be possible!"

"How about you?" Sanae asked the group under the blankets with Tomoya.

"C c c cold." Tomoyo said through numb blue lips.

"I found the electric blankets, but I can't find the power adapters and plugs!" Akio said in frustration as he entered the room.

"How…" Kotomi asked, "How big is your bath… and your water heater."

"Bath?" Sanae was confused.

"Of course!" Akio shouted, "Baka! I'll have it ready soon, it is big enough for a family and the water heater is big too!" He left the room in a run.

"Kotomi-chan," Sanae asked, "why does it matter how big the water heater is?"

"If Nagisa-chan is as cold as Tomoya-kun," Kotomi tried hard not to stutter through her cold, trembling lips, "their bodies will cool down the hot water pretty quickly. We will need the hot water heater to constantly resupply..."

"I get it." Sanae put her hand on Kotomi's exposed head and said, "thank you. I'll go help Akio set things up, but I'll be right back.

Ryou could no longer feel her hands and feet. She knew what the symptoms of hypothermia were and knew that they were all feeling these effects. The numbness would work its way up the arms and legs, then there would be a sudden feeling of warmth in the core of the body. She knew from her reading what this meant. When that happened, it would mean that the body was shutting down and had shut off blood to the appendages. The fingers and toes would die first. She was willing to do this for Nagisa but she had to tell the others. Just then, she heard cries and shouts from the other cocoon.

"Ryou!" Kyou cried out, "Tomoya had been tense – like every muscle in his body was tight, but he just jerked, then relaxed and is completely limp now. What does that mean?"

"Quick," Ryou shouted, "Check to see if he's breathing!"

"He's not!" Kotomi said in a panicked voice, "He's not breathing!"

"You have to breathe for him." Ryou ordered, "Check for a heartbeat… or pulse."

"I'm not in position… I can't..." Kotomi was behind Tomoya and couldn't get to his mouth easily. She looked to Kyou but could see that Kyou didn't know what to do.

"I can do this," Tomoyo said confidently and moved up a bit to Tomoya's face. She checked his air passage even as she checked the pulse at his neck and said, "I feel a pulse… it is very light though."

"As long as he has one," Ryou said, "but start the breathing now or he may have brain damage."

Without another word, Tomoyo sealed her lips to Tomoya's and started filling his lungs with air. Kotomi and Kyou were mere centimeters away and watched with eyes wide open as the powder blond breathed life giving air into Tomoya's lungs. Both of them felt pangs of jealousy but they were subdued under the gratefulness for Tomoyo saving the life of their beloved Tomoya.

"Eh?" with a start, Kyou realized that Tomoyo was looking directly into her eyes while her lips were sealed with Tomoya's. Was this a challenge of some kind?

"Watch carefully." Tomoyo said to Kyou as she took her lips away and let Tomoya exhale, "the cold has weakened me and I won't be able to keep this up for long."

"What?" Kyou asked as Tomoyo sealed her lips to Tomoya's again. Surely this brazen junior wasn't giving up so soon. She noticed that again, Tomoyo's gaze was locked on her as she inflated Tomoya's lungs.

"We will both last much longer if we take turns." Tomoyo gasped for air herself, "Do you understand?" Again, the powder blond pinched Tomoya's nose, tilted his head, and sealed lips to inflate Tomoya's lungs with fresh air.

"Yes, I..." Kyou was stunned. She watched what Tomoyo was doing and tried to burn everything into her memory. Even as she did, she could feel the dread of doing this. She had just come to grips with herself about her relationship with Tomoya. She would be his friend. Along with Youhei, she would be his best friend. She would not be his girlfriend. She would not be his lover. She would never hold him that way, never kiss him, never feel his lips… "No..." she started to panic. She felt a hand caress the side of her face and looked at it. Kotomi's hand. She looked down into Kotomi's eyes. There was fear and even love, but they were not full of anger, or jealousy, or hate.

"You can do this Kyou-chan." Kotomi encouraged her friend, "You can save his life."

"But… I..." Kyou ran out of time. Tomoyo was out of breath and had turned Tomoya's face to Kyou. Her panic was like thin ice and she was frozen with indecision. It seemed that anything she did would be wrong.

"Do you want him to die?" Tomoyo panted as she saw the panic in the lavender haired girl's purple eyes.

The ice beneath Kyou broke with those words. Relationships could be broken and rebuilt a thousand times, but only if there was life. Kyou sealed her lips to Tomoya's and breathed deep into his lungs. Even as she did, she felt her hands grabbed and repositioned by Tomoyo and Kotomi.

"You have to pinch the nose shut like this," Kotomi told her, "or all the air will just go out without getting to the lungs."

"And remember to support the neck." Tomoyo added.

Kyou redoubled her efforts but stopped when someone pulled her hair and made her pull away from Tomoya. She glared into Tomoyo's eyes for the interference.

"You have to let him exhale," Tomoyo let go of Kyou's lavender hair and smiled, "you don't need to inflate him like a balloon."

Kyou blushed and silently bowed her head in apology to Tomoyo.

When Sanae came back into the room, she thought Tomoya must be feeling better if he was kissing… Tomoyo? Then she saw the switch-off and how they were holding his nose and realized what was happening. Ryou had already attached the breathing machine to her own daughter. What ever this affliction was, it seemed to be affecting Tomoya and her daughter the same way.

"Mama!" Ryou cried out, "You have to take Nagisa soon, Yukine is not responding!"

"Oh my gosh," Sanae ran over to her daughter's cocoon and looked at the blue eyes under the light brown hair. They were open if slow to respond, but her lips were blue and her jaw was shaking as if she was lost in a blizzard. Akio arrived as Sanae was struggling to get Nagisa out of the cocoon.

"I'll get Nagisa, you get the breathing machine." He pulled Nagisa by cold arms and soon had her free of the blankets. Sanae unplugged the breathing machine from the wall and followed Akio out of the room. The machine was equipped with an emergency battery, so it continued to breathe for Nagisa as they moved her to the bathroom.

Without Nagisa there to take their heat, Ryou, Youhei, and Yukine instantly began to warm up. All three of them felt the pain of cold limbs moving again. Ryou pulled at their hands to look at their fingers. They were stiff but none were blackened. She was glad that her worst fears for her friends were not realized. At the same time, she knew she needed to check on Tomoya and the friends in the other cocoon but she wanted to be by Nagisa's side too. She would not be able to do either until she got a better command of her legs back though.

Akio was back soon and moving to take Tomoya, but Kyou stopped him.

"Wait until Ryou can move." she told Akio, "My legs are numb… I won't be able to follow for a bit… and he needs help breathing."

"I can move." Tomoyo said, "I can last until one of you comes to help."

"Don't worry about it," Akio told them as he pulled Tomoya from his cocoon of blankets, "Sanae and I both know CPR and resuscitation." In moments, he had Tomoya's body in a fireman's carry. "Damn, he's cold!" he said as he headed out of the room.

Tomoyo and Ryou both emerged from their blankets. Both of them were crawling towards the door since they still felt numb in their feet and legs.

"Yukine," Youhei said as he hugged her cold body to his own under the blankets, "are you okay?"

"B...better," Yukine's jaw trembled, "h...hold m...me." She felt his arms circle her and hold her close as she passed out.

Kyou started to move. She felt the pang of jealousy again when she saw Tomoyo crawl out of the room to follow Akio. She wanted to be there for Tomoya too. No, she _needed_ to be there for him. Her movement suddenly stopped when she was crushed to Kotomi's chest by the purple haired girl's encircling arms.

"Oh Kyou-chan," Kotomi cried, "I'm so scared! I don't want him to die. I don't want to be alone again. I need him… I can't do it alone. Without him… I can't … I can't make it." Kotomi was trembling hard now but it was no longer from the cold. She never thought the idea of being alone would scare her this much. She had been alone so much of her life that it shouldn't have bothered her at all. But it did, and it did in a big way. In the last several months she had experienced so much that she never thought she would know. She had experienced fun, made friends, and fallen deeply in love. And at a deep level, she knew all of this was possible because of Tomoya. He had been the catalyst, the gateway to her experiencing life. "Kyou-chan, he completes me. I will be lost without him!"

"I know..." Kyou started to pry herself loose from the panicking girl but had a change of heart. Kotomi needed her too. "I'm scared too. But I promise to do anything I can to help Tomoya, okay?"

"Yes..." Kotomi cried into the waves of lavender hair that fell about her face, "Thank you so much, Kyou-chan." Reluctantly, Kotomi let go of Kyou. When Kyou left, she would be alone. She didn't want to be alone but she knew Kyou was needed. Kotomi chanted the words back to herself that Kyou was needed to help Tomoya as she closed her eyes and started to curl up under the blankets… alone.

"Oh no you don't!" Kyou's voice had it's strength back. She blasted a surprised Kotomi with it as she reached into the blankets and pulled the purple haired girl out by her arms. "You're going down there to help too." Kyou pulled Kotomi until they were both standing up on wobbly legs, leaning against each other for support.

"Kyou..." Kotomi's eyes started to tear up as the two friends took their first unsteady steps out of the room.

"Don't thank me yet," Kyou said with conviction, "I'm going to get you there if I have to drag you by your hair!"

"Eep!" Kotomi was shocked for a moment before she figured out that it was supposed to be a joke. She gave a sidelong glance at Kyou looking for some sign to confirm that it was supposed to be a joke. Not seeing what she was hoping to see, Kotomi desperately wanted to ask Kyou if she was joking but decided that the answer had the potential to be scarier than not knowing.

.

 **Daytime – The Illusionary World**

* * *

Tomoya thought he might still be dreaming. He had opened his eyes but discovered he was looking at his own face. He knew it wasn't a mirror when the face smiled at him and asked him a question.

"I've seen you before, haven't I?" the other Tomoya asked.

Tomoya blinked his eyes several times and shook his head to clear out the cobwebs.

"Whoa buddy," the other Tomoya grabbed his head and made him keep still, "I don't know how hard you smacked that rock with your head, but let's not take any chances."

Tomoya agreed that his head hurt pretty bad but the movement did seem to help his vision a bit. The other Tomoya was wearing heavy winter clothing, It looked familiar if a bit worn now. Looking around the room, he saw a pile of clothes and a girl that looked like she might be around ten years old asleep on the clothes pile.

"She's grown a bit since the last time you've seen her, huh?" the other Tomoya asked.

"Winter?" Tomoya asked.

"Yeah," the other Tomoya said, "it's always winter here. The kid has grown from an infant and the seasons only change from slush to driving blizzard."

"No, I mean..." Tomoya fought back the sudden urge to vomit, "there were three other Tomoya's here last time. I called you Winter Tomoya because you were the only one in Winter clothes."

"Yeah," Winter Tomoya smiled, "I thought it was you. Were you the one in the school uniform or the one that came from the picnic?"

"Picnic." Tomoya answered through a wave of nausea. Looking up at the winter version of himself, he asked, "How did you know I wasn't the one in the pajama's?"

"I'll tell you about that later," Winter Tomoya helped him get up and move over to the sleeping girl, "right now you have to talk to Ushio."

"Ushio?" Picnic Tomoya asked,

"Yeah..." Winter Tomoya seemed to be hiding something, "I've been here a while and learned a bit about… things. But I don't know how long you'll be here this time so we have to do as much as we can."

"Um… okay." Picnic Tomoya really wanted to just go to sleep and rest.

"I know you want to sleep now, but this is really important." Winter Tomoya helped Picnic Tomoya to lay down on the pile of clothes next to the sleeping girl.

Picnic Tomoya was startled to notice that a lot of the clothes in the pile were things that he recognized as his. He was about to ask about that when he saw that the little girl was waking up.

"Papa?" she rubbed her eyes and looked at him. Then she looked at Winter Tomoya and asked, "Is he a new Tomoya-papa?"

"Papa?" Picnic Tomoya was confused and his muddled brain wasn't helping to clear things up all that much.

"His head hit a rock so he can't think so well right now." Winter Tomoya explained to Ushio, "do you want me to tell him the story?"

"Yup!" Ushio agreed and leaned against Winter Tomoya.

Picnic Tomoya listened as Winter Tomoya told a strange story about a little girl whose mother died the day she was born. Her father was so riven with grief, he didn't have anything to do with her for five years. When he came back into her life, she discovered her father was wonderful but he was still filled with the consuming sadness that he lost his wife. Ushio decided to do something about it and woke up in this place. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working out. This world is not the way it is supposed to be. She wasn't strong enough.

"Wait," Picnic Tomoya waved his hand in front of his face, "Strong enough for what?"

Winter Tomoya put a finger over his lips and nodded toward the table. The girl looked terribly tired and winter Tomoya laid her back down on the clothes and put one of Tomoya's high school jackets over her. Picnic Tomoya got up and staggered toward the table where he saw a set of winter clothes similar to what Winter Tomoya was wearing.

"Put those on," Winter Tomoya told him, "we need to take a walk."

It took a while for Tomoya to get dressed as frequent dizzy spells made him stop and take a break. By the time he was dressed, it was starting to get dark outside again and he was feeling better. Winter Tomoya led him out of the cabin and around back to a path that headed over a small hill.

"Where are you taking me?" Picnic Tomoya asked as they started walking up the hill.

"There is something on the other side of this hill you need to see," Winter Tomoya told him, "but you have questions and I'll answer them while we walk."

"Okay..." Picnic Tomoya though about which question he should ask first, "Why did she call me papa?"

"She calls me papa too." Winter Tomoya answered with a chuckle, "in the world where she came from, her parents were Nagisa-chan and Tomoya."

"What?" Picnic Tomoya stopped walking until the dizziness subsided, "What about Kotomi-chan?"

"Apparently, many of the important people in your life, in your world are also in hers but in different roles." Winter Tomoya explained, "She doesn't remember Kotomi-chan that well, but she is positive that Fujibayashi Kyou is her Kindergarten teacher."

"You're kidding!" Picnic Tomoya laughed, "well, I guess she got her wish granted somewhere."

"That seems to be a standard, by the way." Winter Tomoya chuckled too, "No matter what world a Tomoya comes from, he always knows a Fujibayashi Kyou and she always wants to be a Kindergarten teacher." Both of the Tomoya's laughed at this.

"Does she make it?" Picnic Tomoya asked, "In any of the other worlds, I mean?"

"I dunno." Winter Tomoya said, "I think that is one of the things Ushio got wrong with this world. All the Tomoya's have been from their third year in high school, and none of them are in a relationship with Furukawa Nagisa yet."

"Oh," Picnic Tomoya thought about his comment _all the Tomoya's_ and wondered, "How did you know I wasn't the Tomoya wearing pajama's?"

"Oh yeah…" Winter Tomoya looked sad. They had got to the top of the hill and the other side was a gradual slope down but it was covered in little stacks of rocks poking up out of the snow. Winter Tomoya pointed to a small pile of rocks and said, "I knew you weren't him because he is over there."

Picnic Tomoya suddenly realized what the small piles of rocks were and looked more closely. Even in the fading light, he could see that there were more than a dozen… more than two dozen of them. He took a step back from Winter Tomoya in shock.

"Careful," Winter reached out to give support, "You're still a little dizzy and another fall might be too much for you right now."

"Who… who are all these" Picnic Tomoya asked.

"They are all Tomoyas." Winter Tomoya confirmed sadly, "I found most of them dead in the snow. A few lived long enough to die in my arms."

"Every Tomoya that has come here has died?" A growing suspicion and fear began to grow in Picnic Tomoya's mind.

"Baka!" Winter Tomoya said, "Not even. Most Tomoya's come and go like you did the first time. These are just the ones that didn't make it.

"So..." Picnic Tomoya struggled to figure it out, "that's how you got all the extra clothes?"

"Yeah… and donations." Winter Tomoya laughed.

"Donations?" Picnic Tomoya asked.

"Yeah," Winter Tomoya explained, "if you strip before you go back, anything you're not wearing gets left behind."

"Oh..." Picnic Tomoya was still a little suspicious and wondered, "why would I want to leave my clothes behind?"

"Hey, you don't have to." Winter Tomoya told him as he pointed back at the cabin, "But whether you are with Furukawa Nagisa in your world or not, that little girl in there is Tomoya's daughter."

"She does look a lot like Nagisa, doesn't she?" Picnic Tomoya could see the resemblance and smiled as he wondered what his and Kotomi's children would look like.

"Yeah," Winter Tomoya took a deep breath and started down the hill, "Yeah she does." Both of them were looking back toward the cabin and both noticed ominous clouds in the distance that seemed to be coming their way.

"What about you?" Picnic Tomoya asked as he followed the other Tomoya down the hill, "Do you end up coming back here a lot?"

"I never left." Winter Tomoya stopped and looked back at the cabin.

"What?" Picnic Tomoya stopped too, "Why?"

"I have an idea about that." Winter Tomoya started walking again, "I think I'm dead in the world I came from. I don't think I can go back."

"What makes you think..." Picnic Tomoya was asking but Winter Tomoya waved off the question and answered it. He had heard that same question from so many Tomoya's before.

"I was in an area with a high avalanche risk when I woke up here."

"Oh." Picnic Tomoya was suddenly sad for his other self. Glancing back toward the top of the hill where several dozen little piles of stones were, he was sad for several of his other selves. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah," Winter Tomoya told him, "leave your clothes and don't say anything to Ushio that might make her sad. She really is linked to this world and her sadness means really bad weather." They both noticed lightning flashing in the oncoming clouds that were rushing toward them from the far horizon.

"Looks like something is making her sad now." Picnic Tomoya commented.

"Yeah..." Winter Tomoya wondered as they walked around from the back side of the cabin, "did another Tomoya show up while we were out?"

They were both expecting to see another Tomoya in the cabin when they opened the door, but they were both surprised to see a crying Ushio clinging to a short girl with long brown hair in a blue bow and wearing a Hikarizaki high school uniform.

"FUKO!" both Tomoyas shouted in surprise.

.

 **Wednesday evening, May 28 – Furukawa Residence: Bathroom**

* * *

The house had a family bath which was fortunate. It was large enough for Kotomi to get in behind Tomoya and for Ryou to get in behind Nagisa. Each of them held onto their charges and kept their heads above the water while trying to circulate the cold water away and the warm water onto their chilled bodies.

Unconvinced that the hot water heater would last on its own, the Furukawa's had every oven and stove in the house and bakery heating pots and pitchers of water. They had also turned up the heater in the bathroom and it was a steamy sauna to anyone that wasn't next to one of the heat devouring bodies. Youhei and Yukine were helping Akio and Sanae with ferrying hot water to the bathroom but Kyou and Tomoyo were trapped in the sauna like room since they were still breathing for Tomoya. To avoid heat exhaustion, they had struggled out of all their clothes except their underwear. The first time Youhei had come into the room and saw them like that, he stopped and gawked. But only for a second. He didn't need anyone else to yell at him this time. His own brain was screaming at him not to be an idiot. Both Kyou and Tomoyo were about to swear unholy vengeance on Youhei when he stunned them by taking a deep bow.

"Thank you for saving the life of my friend." was all Youhei had to say. He emptied the hot water into the tub and left the room.

Kyou and Tomoyo said nothing. With stunned expressions, they looked at the place where Youhei had been for a few moments, then looked at each other and blushed. Even Youhei could be surprising.

While Tomoyo and Kyou took turns breathing for Tomoya, Kotomi held his body in position for them and kept speaking into Tomoya's ear. She told him how she loved him, how she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She implored him to come back from where ever he was and be with her again. His body still floated listlessly in Kotomi's arms and she was turning his face back to Kyou when Tomoyo stopped her.

"Wait!" an exhausted looking Tomoyo stopped an equally tired Kyou from her turn to breathe into Tomoya's mouth. Tomoyo put her ear up to Tomoya's mouth and listened, then pressed his neck with her fingers and closed her eyes. Then she got to announce the news that everyone wanted to hear, "He is breathing on his own and his pulse is stronger now."

Sanae finished pouring her pitchers of hot water into the bath and ran into the kitchen to tell Akio, Yukine, and Youhei the good news. Sitting on the floor, Kyou and Tomoyo slumped against the wall and each other in fatigue. Kyou meshed the fingers of her right hand through the fingers of Tomoyo's left hand and squeezed, getting Tomoyo's attention.

"Thank you for..." Kyou panted, "for..."

"Its..." Tomoyo was about to tell her it was okay, don't worry about it, whatever… but she turned to Kyou and saw the tears streaming down the cheeks of the lavender haired girl. "Hey, hey..." Tomoyo said softly, "You really care for him don't you?"

"What?" Kyou looked up nervously, "I… He's my friend, and I..."

"Tell me the truth, Kyou." Tomoyo squeezed Kyou's hand for emphasis.

"I… do." Kyou's well maintained facade of just-friends fell, even as her face crumbled into tears and sobs. It felt good to admit the truth to someone. Kyou leaned against Tomoyo and cried away the pain.

This was a first for Tomoyo. She had never had anyone this close before. Even her family maintained a comfortable distance between one another. This was… uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but at the same time, she felt a closeness to another person she had never felt before… and it was exhilarating. Were they all like this? All the members of the Drama Club were so close. It was frightening and at the same time enticing and even intoxicating. Tomoyo wanted a closeness like this in her life more than anything but she was scared. That kind of closeness was dangerous. The proof was in this very room. Looking around, she could see the pain that Ryou, Kotomi, and Kyou were in for the very friends that made them feel so loved. Was it worth it?

"I don't know what I'm gonna do if something happens to him!" Kyou sobbed against Tomoyo's shoulder, "I really don't. I love him so much!"

"Kyou-chan!" Kotomi suddenly called out from the tub.

"Yes!," Kyou answered, "Kotomi-chan." Tomoyo was suddenly concerned that Kotomi had heard Kyou and friends would now be fighting, so she was stunned at Kotomi's next words.

"Come get in the water next to me." she yelled, "You need to tell him to come back!"

"Eh?" Kyou was confused.

"At the park," Kotomi expounded, "it was your voice that he said he heard... calling him back!"

"Yes!" with renewed energy, Kyou was up in a heartbeat and stepping into the tub.

Tomoyo was stunned as she watched the two girls who were in love with the same guy, working together to save his life. Looking over at the other cold body, she saw that Ryou was losing a battle against exhaustion. Having seen Ryou's devotion to her friend, Tomoyo knew what she would have to do. She entered the water slid in underneath Nagisa while pushing Ryou out of the way. Tomoyo looked directly into the tired but surprised blue eyes of the lavender haired girl.

"Get out and get some rest." Tomoyo said bluntly, "You are not going to be any good to her if you drive yourself to the point of exhaustion or drown."

"But..."

"If I asked, you would have said no." Tomoyo told her again, "So I'm not asking. Get out and get some rest." At first Ryou was upset but she realized the truth of what Tomoyo was saying and smiled at the powder blond with the blue eyes.

"Thank you very much, Sakagami-san." Ryou said. She heaved herself out of the tub and fell into sleep where she sat down on the tile floor next to the tub.

.

 **Nighttime – The Illusionary World**

* * *

"Fuko?" Ushio gasped as she looked at the familiar looking girl wearing school clothes that she had never seen Fuko wear before.

"You can see Fuko?" Fuko asked excitedly.

"Yup," Ushio pointed at the diminutive girl, "you're right there!"

"Fuko is sorry," Fuko apologized, "but Fuko doesn't remember you. Fuko should remember a girl as cute as you! Tell Fuko your name and Fuko will make you Fuko's little sister!"

"Hee!" Ushio giggled, "you said you would make me your little sister before too! My name is Ushio."

"Ushio!" Fuko chirped then squealed in delight, "Fuko has a little sister!" Fuko ran over to Ushio and gave the younger girl a hug.

"I'm so happy to see you!" Ushio beamed, then grew concerned, "But how did you get here?"

"Fuko doesn't know," Fuko looked like she was trying to remember something, "Fuko went to visit Nagisa-chan..."

"Okazaki Nagisa?" Ushio's eyes opened with excitement, "I mean, Furukawa Nagisa?"

"Um… yeah," Fuko looked at the little girl and tried to remember where they had met before.

"How is she?" Ushio gushed, "Is she ali… okay? Is she happy?"

"No… no she's not." Fuko said sadly, "she is pretty sick."

"What?" Ushio looked stricken, "What happened to her?"

"She has a fever, but her body is real cold and she won't wake up." Fuko told the young girl and asked, "How do you know Nagisa-chan? Is she a friend?"

"She won't wake up?" Ushio looked mortified. Just then there was a flash of light from outside and Fuko looked up to see ominously dark clouds moving toward the little cabin they were in.

"Wow," Fuko watched another flash of lightning play across the clouds, "it looks like we're in for a big storm."


	17. Chapter 17 - Yusuke's Stand

**Thursday early morning, May 29 – Prefecture Hospital ICU**

* * *

Yusuke held his sobbing wife in his arms. This was not a situation anyone would ever want to be in. But, as bad as it was, his wife would soon have to make the decision to turn off the life support for her little sister's failing body. They both knew what would happen soon. A doctor, a nurse, and an administrator would approach them soon. The doctor would explain why Fuko's frail body was beyond hope and that artificially keeping her alive beyond this point was just prolonging the suffering. The administrator would talk to them about the insurance running out and the legal responsibilities. The nurse would be there to assist in case Kouko became overwrought or passed out. But knowing what would happen didn't help. It only heightened the anxiety whenever they saw anyone in a medical smock walking toward them.

They came from behind Kouko. Yusuke saw the three of them round a corner and begin the walk toward the only two people in the hallway at this hour. It was as if time slowed down and he could feel every detail of the moment. The rustle of the hospital smock that the nurse wore. The tired look of the administrator that must have been awakened long before his alarm would have gone off just to do this. The look of sadness and grim determination on the face of the doctor. The sound of their footsteps on the cold tile floor getting louder with each footfall as they got closer.

Kouko was exhausted. Her memories and her senses were beginning to play tricks on her. She could almost hear her little sister's sweet voice promising that she would try to make friends tomorrow… but her voice was getting lost in the echoes of footsteps. She could feel Yusuke's arms tighten around her and she suddenly tensed. Not the footsteps.

 _Oh God no, please… not the footsteps!_

She looked up into Yusuke's face but he was watching something behind her. The sound of the footsteps were getting louder and… seemed to be coming from behind her.

"No..." she begged Yusuke to tell her it wasn't what she dreaded. If he could just look at her now and tell her it would all be okay… if he could…

"Mrs. Yoshino?" a voice from behind her called out, "We need to talk. Would you like to sit down?"

.

Yusuke felt like a traitor. He had left his wife there to talk to the hospital people by herself with the excuse that he needed to go to the bathroom and would bring back some drinks. It wasn't that he couldn't take it. He could have been brave through it all, but Kouko... She leaned into him and wouldn't hear what they had to say as long as he was there. And this was something that she needed to do. Something that she had to confront. She had to hear them out. He knew he was doing the right thing… but he still felt like a traitor.

He was walking back from the vending machines when his cell phone went off. Who would be calling at three in the morning? For a moment he considered not answering it. In the end, he was too responsible to do that. It could be his boss. If it was a work emergency, he would let them know his situation and they would probably let him off the hook. Opening the phone, he saw a name he vaguely recognized. It wasn't work, but he answered it anyway.

"Sunohara-san?" Yusuke asked.

"Yoshino-san!" Youhei seemed excited about something, "I'm sorry if I woke you up but this is important! Is Fuko okay?"

"How did you know?" Yusuke dropped one of the drink cans in surprise.

"What?" Youhei demanded, "What happened to Fuko? Please you have to tell me!"

"Well," Yusuke considered telling him that it was none of his business and that it was a matter for family members but there was something too specific about this call. Something made Yusuke feel like he should talk to the boy. "Her vitals crashed earlier this evening and she is in an intensive care unit now." That was all he felt he could say at the moment. Youhei didn't need to know that the decision was being made at this very moment about turning off the life support and letting her pass away.

"Is she cold?" Youhei asked.

"What?" Yusuke looked at his phone as if the silly device had just made up some words on its own. Why would he ask that?

"Please," Youhei's voice conveyed an urgency and for the first time Yusuke noticed that he could hear many more voices in the background. Wherever Youhei was, he was taking the time to call when he seemed to be in the middle of his own emergency, "find out if her body is cold to the touch. Find out if she is colder than what can be explained medically."

"Right," Yusuke felt spurred into action. For hours he and Kouko had sat, paced, and stood idly in this hallway feeling completely helpless. Hours of waiting and wishing that there was something they could do had passed with building anxiety and dread. He could do this. It was a direct question that would have a yes or no answer and it seemed that this absurd high school student knew something. Kicking the drink can down the hallway as he sprinted for the lounge, Yusuke clutched his cell phone like a lifeline to hope. Bursting into the room, he saw Kouko with the clipboard in her hand. She was leaning against the nurse and sobbing at the moment. It didn't look like she had signed anything yet.

"What is the meaning of this?" the administrator jumped up when the lounge door slammed open.

"Is she cold?" Yusuke ignored the administrator's question and asked the doctor.

"There may be some abnormal..." the doctor had turned in his seat to see Yusuke but it seemed that he wasn't taking the question too seriously.

"Specifically," Yusuke held up the cell phone when he asked the question in Youhei's words, "Is her body colder than what can be explained medically?"

"What?" the doctor was on his feet now, "How do you know that?"

"Sunohara-san!" Yusuke said into his phone now, "did you hear?"

"Yes," Sunohara seemed excited, "tell them to… can you put me on speaker?"

"Yes!" Yusuke hit the speakerphone button. Youhei's voice was suddenly replaced by a female voice that Yusuke did not recognize.

"Electric blankets and heat lamps may not be sufficient to keep the body adequately warmed." Ryou fought her exhaustion to give the instructions as quickly as possible, "loss of circulation to the appendages and frostbite damage to the fingers and toes may result if you don't immerse the body in a hot water bath. The water will cool quickly so you will need a heat source or you will need to constantly replenish the hot water."

"Who is this?" the doctor demanded, "the patient is on life support. There's no way we can..."

"We've got two people with the same problems and only one breathing machine!" Youhei's voice was back and he was yelling through the cell phone, "If we can keep them alive in a bakery, I would think a hospital could do at least that much!" There was a click and the phone went dead.

"Without knowing who that was and getting more information, I'm afraid the hospital simply can't..." the administrator was interrupted by Yusuke's best performance voice.

"GENTLEMEN," his voice boomed off the walls and down the corridors. Kouko gasped, she hadn't heard him use that voice in so long. "It is now 3:46 in the morning. If Fuko dies tonight, I will demand an autopsy. If there is any evidence of frostbite… any evidence at all, I will sue this hospital, and you individually, for everything down to your last syringe."

.

 **Nighttime – The Illusionary World**

* * *

"Ah! The weird guy! There's two of them!" Fuko cried out.

"This world is going to come apart!" Winter Tomoya yelled over the sounds of the howling wind and the feel of the cabin creaking and groaning under the weight of the snow that was piling up on top of it. "You grab Fuko, I'll get Ushio."

"Where are we going?" picnic Tomoya asked.

"Nowhere, just hold onto her!" winter Tomoya said as he swooped up the panicking girl and held her close. Picnic Tomoya grabbed the small but feisty Fuko and held onto her as they felt the cabin start shaking as if there was an earthquake.

"No, no!" Fuko screamed, "I want to be with Ushio!" She tried to get away from picnic Tomoya but he was strong enough to keep her restrained.

"Ushio, I'm here." winter Tomoya said softly to the distraught auburn haired little girl, "it's okay to let it all go, but you have to release them first."

"What?" Ushio sobbed through her tears, "but..."

"You have to let them go, Ushio. Please let them go home now." winter Tomoya said with calming words.

"I don't want to be alone!" Ushio cried.

"You won't be alone." winter Tomoya held her tight and promised, "I'll be with you all the way to the end. You don't ever have to let me go."

"Promise?" Ushio choked as the floor shook with a stronger tremor.

"Thank you Papa." Ushio tucked her head in winter Tomoya's chest and cried.

Winter Tomoya turned to say goodbye to picnic Tomoya and Fuko, but they were already gone.

"I don't want to lose you!" Ushio cried out to winter Tomoya as the other side of the cabin's floor broke apart and the roof caved in under the weight of snow.

"I will always love you Ushio," winter Tomoya said as they felt the whole world rumbling, "whenever you walk in the snow, I will be with you."

.

 **Thursday morning, May 29 – Prefecture Hospital ICU**

* * *

Beep beep… beep beep… beep beep...

"What the hell?" the nurse cried out. She was able to verify the unbelievable readings in only a few seconds. Then the stunned, but elated nurse hit the general call button.

.

"Yoshino-san," the doctor gave a low bow, "please accept my humblest apologies for not believing..."

"Oh my God!" Kouko cried out and clutched at her husband for support.

"What? No!" The doctor said quickly, "Fuko is okay! I thought you had been told."

"She's okay?" Kouko gasped, "what do you mean, she's okay?"

"Well, she is still in the coma," the doctor admitted, "but her vitals and brain function are stronger now than they were before this all started."

"Is there hope..." Kouko was quieted by the doctor taking her hand.

"There is always hope," the doctor told her, "and, although I would normally not go this far, I would say there is good reason to hope. With all that has happened this morning with Fuko, even a jaded old doctor like me has hope."

Kouko collapsed into a chair and, for the first time since this all began, she cried tears of joy.

Yusuke pulled out his cell phone and called Youhei's number. The call rolled to voice mail and Yusuke left a message that they had just been told that Fuko was doing better now, but still in the coma.

.

 **Thursday morning, May 29 – Furukawa Residence**

* * *

"Tomoya, please come back." a sad and exhausted voice called to Tomoya through the dark.

"Tomoya, your friends all want you to come back… please come back." the voice in the darkness seemed familiar.

"Kotomi loves you. She wants you to come back. Please come back." the pleading voice got a little louder and the darkness wasn't so dark anymore.

"Tomoya, I… I love you too. I know it's meaningless and you don't love me, but I don't care. I love you and I want you to come back. I need you to come back. Please don't leave me." the begging voice sobbed, "I'll do anything you say. I'll go to the college in America with you if that's what you want. Just don't leave me. Please don't leave me."

"Nagisa!" Ryou cried out as she saw Nagisa's body suddenly struggling and fighting.

"The breathing machine!" Sanae yelled, "get it off of her! She's struggling to breathe on her own."

Those were the words Tomoya heard as the cold world slipped away and he felt himself in a… bath of hot water? He also felt as if Fuko was slipping away but he felt a body next to him and grabbed onto it and held it tight.

"I've got you Fuko!" Tomoya cried out as he clung desperately to the body.

"Eep!" the body squeaked and was stiff at first, but quickly relaxed and he could feel the body sobbing and holding onto him too. Tomoya opened his eyes and could only see a torrent of wet lavender hair all around his face.

"What?" Tomoya held the crying girl tighter and asked, "Kyou?"

"Oh Tomoya," Kyou sobbed quietly on his shoulder, "I thought you were going to die… I thought..."

"It's okay," he caressed her wet hair and said soothingly, "I'm back… and I don't think I'll be going to that place again."

"Oh thank God." Kyou sobbed in Tomoya's arms.

"Um… where is Kotomi?" Tomoya asked,

"I'm right here." he heard Kotomi's voice from very close to his other ear and realized that she was under him in the big soaking tub. "Were you in the cold place again?"

"Yes." he told her.

"Okay, before you start to forget details," she instructed, "I want you to stay exactly as you are. Close your eyes, and tell me everything you can recall. Leave nothing out."

"Um… about Kyou." Tomoya realized that the sobbing had stopped but she wasn't moving.

"She is asleep now," Kotomi told him, "She has had a rough night. Just hold onto her and she'll be fine."

Tomoyo watched Kyou, Tomoya, and Kotomi for a minute then went back to help with Nagisa. They had removed the breathing apparatus from her throat and she was gasping and coughing now. She saw Sanae stand up and look at the reading on a thermometer with a look of surprise.

"Her temperature is normal now." Sanae announced.

"Nagisa," Akio looked into his daughter's responsive eyes with a wonder that he had not felt since she was an infant and he begged for her life amongst the trees. "Nagisa, how do you feel?" he asked.

"I feel mostly okay. My throat hurts and I'm real hungry though." Nagisa looked around the room in astonishment, "I'm also confused. Why is everyone in our bathroom?"

First Sanae started laughing. Ryou was next, followed by Akio, Youhei, and Yukine. Tomoyo smiled and watched the collective nerves unwind.

"What?" Nagisa asked innocently, "What did I say?"

.

Tomoyo helped Sanae make breakfast for everyone. Yukine and Youhei helped Akio as best they could in the bakery. They made enough to satisfy the morning rush but Akio had already decided that the bakery would be closing early, so there was no need to make a full day's worth of bread-stuffs to sell. Everyone was just too exhausted from the long difficult night to keep the shop open longer than mid-morning.

Sanae made phone calls after she had finished making breakfast. She called the Fujibayashi residence and left a message that Nagisa seemed to be making a full recovery. She told them that Kyou and Ryou had both been instrumental in helping Nagisa to pull through but it had been an all night struggle and the girls would need to be absent from school today. Tomoyo thanked her for offering, but said it would be unnecessary to call her parents. Yukine also thanked her for the offer, but told her that she had already taken care of it. When Sanae called the school, the staff person was resistant to accept the list of students that would be absent until a voice in the background asked the staff person to transfer the call.

"Mrs. Furukawa," the kind voice said, "this is Koumura Toshio. How is Nagisa-chan?"

"Koumura-san," Sanae felt relieved that it was him, "it is good to hear your voice again. Nagisa had a very rough night and required constant attention and treatment, but she appears to have made it through and should be well enough to go to school tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Koumura was shocked, "From death's door to coming back tomorrow? It must have been a very interesting night."

"Interesting…" Sanae repeated the word, "I wouldn't call it that. I wouldn't wish a night like that on any parent in the world."

"Very well," Koumura picked up his pen and told the thankful but exhausted mother, "give me the names of the students and I'll take care of it."

.

"You're all welcome to stay here and rest." Sanae told them as they finished breakfast.

"Thanks, but I really need to..." Youhei was cut off when Yukine closed her hand over his and interrupted him.

"Thank you, Furukawa-san," Yukine smiled politely, "Youhei and I would be very happy to take you up on that offer."

"Eh?" Youhei looked down at where Yukine was holding his hand and decided that there wasn't really anything so important that he needed to do after all, "Yeah… what she said."

"Thank you for the kind offer, but my house is not so far away." Kotomi said. "Tomoya, Kyou, and I will rest there." Kyou hadn't been consulted on this but she acknowledged that she would go with Kotomi and Tomoya.

"Do you have room for me?" Tomoyo asked Kotomi. "There are things I would like to discuss with you three, after we have rested."

"There is plenty of room." Kotomi told her, "This is fortuitous. There is something I want to discuss with you as well."

"I guess we know where Ryou-chan will be staying." Akio smiled as he walked over to pick up the sleeping girl lying on the floor with her head in Nagisa's lap. "Come on Nagisa. It's off to bed for you too."

Nagisa was about to complain that she wasn't tired, but she stopped herself. Lying next to Ryou and comforting her until she woke up was a very welcome idea. Turning to everyone in the room, she bowed and said, "Thank you all for taking such good care of me. I'm sorry that I put you out so much."

"Nagisa," Tomoyo said, "you can thank us, but don't apologize. Every one of us did this because we value your friendship. The apology suggests that the friendship is an inconvenience. It is not."

"Oh," Nagisa blushed and without thinking said, "sorry. Wait, I mean um..." Everyone would have been laughing at the poor flustered girl if they hadn't all been so tired. Finally Nagisa figured out what she should say and bowed, "Thank you Tomoyo-chan, I value your friendship too."

.

 **Thursday evening, May 29 – Ichinose House**

* * *

Tomoya had not been as tired as the others, which was good. He ended up carrying Kyou part of the way back to Kotomi's house. Before they got there, Tomoyo was helping Kotomi along too.

"Tomoyo-chan, please take this bedroom as your own." Kotomi indicated a bedroom on the second floor that was connected to another bedroom through a common bathroom. As Tomoyo walked into the room and started looking around, she could hear Tomoya putting Kyou down in the adjoining bedroom. The room had a western style bed that seemed too large for just one person. A minute later, Kotomi appeared with a robe.

"Change into this and I'll put all of our clothes in the laundry." Kotomi said as she handed over the robe.

Tomoyo was about to decline the offer when she realized it was the best solution. She didn't have a change of clothes here, the clothes she was wearing had been through a lot since she had put them on the previous morning, and she would need them tomorrow. She smiled and started disrobing before Kotomi had closed the door.

Tomoya stepped out of the room he put Kyou in and moved quickly to catch Kotomi as she collapsed in the hallway.

"I'm sorry." Kotomi said as he carried her toward her bedroom, "I'm just so tired."

"Don't worry," Tomoya told her reassuringly, "I'm okay. I can take care of the rest."

"I hate to ask this of you..." Kotomi was about to tell him never mind.

"Please," Tomoya said earnestly, "I want to help. I feel like I've been pretty useless."

Kotomi held onto his arm and smiled at his absurdity. She would never think of him as useless. She told him what needed to be done and slid into some much needed sleep.

Tomoya stood with his jaw hanging for a moment after what Kotomi told him she wanted him to do. Surely she couldn't be serious. The easiest way to check would be to collect Tomoyo's clothes. He picked up the laundry basket and went down to the door where Tomoyo should be. When he knocked on the door, he heard a tired response.

"Come in." Tomoyo expected to see Kotomi enter the room but it was Tomoya. She wondered what he could be up to but then noticed the laundry basket he was carrying. "The clothes are on the chair. What happened to Kotomi?"

"She collapsed," Tomoya told her as he gathered the clothes from the chair and tossed them into the basket. "She asked me to take care of this for her. Don't worry, I know how to use the machines."

"It's okay." Tomoyo said as she rolled over. She was asleep before she finished saying _okay_.

In the hallway, Tomoya reached into the basket and pulled out Tomoyo's bra. He knew Kotomi was right when he felt the bra in his hand. It was damp. Kotomi said they had worn their underwear in the tub when they were trying to keep him and Nagisa from freezing to death. Now he knew he would have to do what Kotomi asked, but he hoped Kyou didn't kill him for this.

Covering Kotomi with a towel from her belly to her knees, Tomoya reached up underneath the towel and pulled down the skirt and panties in a single move. He had taken the precaution of tucking the towel underneath her back so it stayed in place and he didn't see anything he shouldn't have. The top would be different though. There was no way he could remove something as complicated as a bra without looking at what he was doing. Rolling her over onto her side he unzipped the blouse and, reaching inside, he unfastened the bra. Rolling her onto her back, he only had to move her arms a little to pull the blouse and the bra off and get them into the laundry basket. Quickly covering her up to her neck, Tomoya apologized to his sleeping girlfriend and kissed her on the forehead.

Tomoya was glad that he practiced on Kotomi. He certainly didn't want Kyou to wake up in the middle of this. On the other hand, maybe he didn't have to.

"Kyou!" Tomoya shook her and called to her as loud as he dared without waking Tomoyo in the next room. "Kyou!" he shook her hard, "Wake up, I need you to take off your clothes." It was no use. She mumbled something but didn't wake up even with vigorous shaking. Tomoya consoled himself that at least this meant that she shouldn't wake up in the middle of what he had to do next. Her body was limp and he moved her without resistance as he had with Kotomi. The only sound from her was her soft breathing. That's why Tomoya almost shouted when he saw her eyes half open and looking at him. He covered her up and knelt next to her head.

"Go back to sleep Kyou," he said softly, "everything is okay now. I'll be around when you wake up." She said nothing but he could see tears forming around her eyes. He dabbed at the tears with the tail of his shirt and closed her eyes as he kissed her on the forehead too. "Sleep now Kyou, you need your rest." With that he left the room.

.

Tomoyo woke up needing to go to the bathroom. That in itself was not so unusual but the bed she was in and the room were unknowns to her. She was even more disoriented when she realized she didn't have any clothes on. But that was what triggered her memories. She was at Ichinose Kotomi's house and she had handed her clothes over to be washed to… Tomoya?" Whatever… right now she needed to get to a toilet. At least she was wearing a robe.

Coming out of the toilet, she could hear crying coming from the other side of the door to the adjoining room. Knowing that Kyou should be in there, she opened the door to see what was wrong. There was a bed in this room like the one in hers. In the middle of the bed, Kyou was curled up in a ball and whimpering. No-one else was in the room. Tomoyo checked Kyou's forehead and she didn't feel like she might have a fever.

"Don't leave me..." Kyou mumbled in her sleep. "Please don't..."

Tomoyo knew what was wrong now. Her little brother had been plagued by nightmares and this was the same thing. It was odd to think of someone as strong as Kyou having a nightmare, but she had been through a lot today after all. Decisively, Tomoyo pulled back the blanket and sheet.

Her eyes popped open when she saw the completely naked Kyou lying on the bed. Covering Kyou back up with the bed sheet, she climbed into bed beside Kyou and pulled the blanket up over them both. In her sleep, Kyou found the warm body next to her and calmed down. Soon, both of them were asleep again.

.

Kyou woke up with a start. There was someone in bed behind her and it wasn't Ryou. She knew it wasn't her sister because she could feel the muscle tone in the arms that held her and they were firm where Ryou was soft. The breasts were too large for this to be Tomoya. She almost giggled at that logic. Rolling over she saw that she was in bed with Tomoyo. For some reason, Tomoyo was lying on top of the sheet instead of under it. Kyou's eyes opened in shock as she realized that she was not wearing any of her clothes. To be sure, she looked under the sheet and blushed as she saw that she was not even wearing her panties. She was about to wake up Tomoyo and demand an explanation when the powder blond's blue eyes opened and she sniffed the air.

"Chicken curry?" Tomoyo asked. Now Kyou sniffed.

"Yeah," Kyou agreed, "smells good."

"Shall we..." Tomoyo suggested.

"Um… I don't seem to be wearing any clothes." Kyou blushed.

"Ah," Tomoyo said, "I guess Tomoya is washing your clothes too."

"Tomoya?" Kyou blushed deeper thinking of Tomoya handling her underwear. Wait… surely he didn't take her clothes off of her!

"Let me see if I can find you a robe in this bathroom..." Tomoyo got out of bed and left Kyou to blush and fret on her own.

.

"Itadakimasu." four voices said around the table. Their clothes were still drying since Tomoya had fallen asleep while they were in the wash so Tomoya, Kyou, and Tomoyo were all wearing the robes at the table.

"This is a nice house," Tomoyo said, "Thank you for having me over."

"Thank you," Kotomi said, "It is conveniently located. It is but a short walk from here to the school."

"That is nice." Tomoyo smiled, "I have to take a train every day."

"Indeed," Kotomi asked Tomoyo in English, ^How are your English language skills?^

^I am in the advanced course for second years,^ Tomoyo replied in English, ^I have achieved the conversational level of difficulty. Why do you ask?^

"Excellent," Kotomi switched back to Japanese, "Tomoya-kun is aware of these plans. I'm sorry for surprising you with this Kyou-chan, but there is an excellent opportunity with the four of us here." Turning back to Tomoyo, Kotomi continued, "After we three graduate, we will be going to America to study abroad. To better prepare for that environment, Tomoya and Kyou will be moving into the Ichinose House with me and we will be speaking only English in the house.

"What?" Kyou gasped.

"Why are you taking Kyou?" Tomoyo asked.

"There are several reasons." Kotomi stated, "First: I am increasingly of the opinion that I may not be able to succeed in my pursuits without Kyou-chan with me. Second: Tomoya-kun and I care a great deal for her. And third: Kyou-chan is in love with Tomoya-kun."

"WHAT?" Kyou shouted.

"Would you like me to repeat it?" Kotomi turned to the blushing Kyou and asked, "Or is one of my assumptions incorrect?"

"No no," Kyou sat back down, "You didn't say anything wrong. I just didn't expect you to say it like that." Kotomi smiled and turned back to Tomoyo.

"Prior to Kyou-chan agreeing to come with us to study in America, I had given her another offer. That offer was to stay here at the Ichinose house and keep it for us until we return."

"I see," Tomoyo looked over at Tomoya to see his reaction to this but he seemed unreadable. Kyou, on the other hand was still blushing from Kotomi's earlier comments. "I don't see how any of this affects me."

"You and I have conversational English mastery." Kotomi explained, "You are running for Student Council President and a short commute would be beneficial. You have another year at the high school after we leave. Do you remember what I said to you when I showed you to your room?"

 _Tomoyo-chan, please take this bedroom as your own._

"Surely, you can't mean that you want me to live here too?" a disbelieving Tomoyo asked.

"Tomoyo-chan, how long will it take you to move in?" Kotomi asked in answer to Tomoyo's question.


	18. Chapter 18 - Crying Eyes

**Thursday evening, May 29 – Furukawa B &LM**

* * *

Ryou woke up feeling wonderfully rested and happy. There were warm fingers interlaced with her own fingers, holding her hand while she had been sleeping. She also felt someone playing with her hair. Well not so much playing as… petting her? Delicate fingers ran through her hair and along her scalp. It felt wonderful but it seemed a little strange. No-one had ever done that with her before. Even her mother or onee-chan had only ever done anything to her hair with a hairbrush or a comb. She didn't feel concern or fear at this intimacy because she knew it was her dear, sweet Nagisa. As soon as she was awake, she could tell from the feel of the hand in her hand and the familiar scent that she was in her Nagisa's arms. Blinking her eyelids open, she found herself looking up into Nagisa's beautiful brown eyes and seeing her contented smile. Nagisa looked as if she had been remade by the gods. Gone was the unhealthy pallor of her skin and the glazed listless look of her eyes. Ryou looked now upon a Nagisa whose face looked the image of health. Her skin had a radiant glow and her hair was a soft paintbrush of auburn glory. Her eyes were deep and clear… and seemed to be filled with love and joy. Her lips…

Nagisa saw that Ryou was awake and smiled. An hour ago Ryou had been struggling in her sleep. Ryou didn't say anything but she was whimpering and seemed to be trying to get away from something she could only see in her nightmare. Nagisa had pulled the troubled girl into her arms and held her close. Nagisa said the kind of things to her dearest friend that her mother had said to her when she was afraid.

"I'm right here. Your Nagisa is right here. I won't leave you. You're safe in my arms. You are my precious Ryou and I am your Nagisa. I'm with you now..." In a soothing motherly voice, Nagisa repeated the litany over and over until Ryou calmed down and slept peacefully. While Ryou slept, Nagisa held her and watched over her. She held Ryou's hand and brushed the hair out of her face. Nagisa smiled as her fingertips caressed her sleeping friend's beautiful face, and Ryou instinctively turned her head toward the touch. Feeling her soft skin and seeing her slightly parted lips, Nagisa wanted nothing more than to seize her friend, hold her tightly and kiss her in a way that would leave nothing to the imagination about her feelings for Ryou. It had been those feelings that had troubled her because she had never felt so much love in her short life as she did for this wonderful lavender haired girl. A love that was so strong, it was scary. Nagisa knew that a lot of people wouldn't accept this kind of love and she worried that Ryou might even be frightened if she ever found out the depth of the love Nagisa now felt for her. It took no small effort to restrain her desire and let her dear friend sleep. Nagisa had consoled herself with holding her dear Ryou's hand, running her fingers through the adorable lavender hair, and watching the face of her loved one as she slept.

But Ryou was awake now and Nagisa felt elation as she looked into those beautiful blue eyes. She couldn't help herself any longer, she dropped her face to her lavender haired friend and kissed her. Nagisa watched the expression in Ryou's eyes as she began the kiss. There had been the briefest moment of surprise, but it was fleeting and replaced with acceptance and welcome. It might not sound like much, but to be accepted by the one you loved was a blessing beyond compare for Nagisa. When she felt Ryou willingly returning the kiss, she closed her eyes and basked in the love and the passion of the moment.

.

Youhei woke up to find Yukine in his futon. At first, he worried that he had crawled into her futon, but a quick look had satisfied him that he had not done anything improper… yet. Unfortunately, he was now awake and aware that there was the greatest of temptations lying on his right arm. She was wearing the pajamas that the Furukawa's had provided but she was on her back right next him. Youhei was acutely aware that he could reach her breasts with either hand, the way their bodies were now positioned. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He tried valiantly not to think of Yukine's breasts now. Yukine's soft and smooth, yet firm and… Noooooooooooooooooo! Maybe if he looked at her face and tried to imagine having to apologize for getting caught doing what his libido was telling him to do. Maybe that would throttle his lust down to a more manageable level. He turned his head and looked into her face.

This wasn't helping. His eyes fell first on her luscious lips. He had kissed those lips before and he wanted so desperately to kiss them again. Kissing Yukine was like watching a magnificent fireworks display. It was amazing to experience, awesome to behold, and you wished it could go on and on. Youhei remembered seeing two fireworks explode as one. Together, they made a more fantastic pattern than either could make by itself. That was how he felt when he kissed Yukine. When she kissed him, it was as if their souls were fusing together. On the one hand, he craved that feeling of being blended with her but on the other hand he dreaded that such a wondrous and pristine soul as hers would be defiled with a soul from someone like him. Without thinking, he had brought his hand to her face and brushed his fingertip across those soft, tender lips. They were already slightly parted but opened a bit wider as his finger drew across them. All he had to do was lower his head a few centimeters and he could kiss those soft… NO! His head backed away but his hand remained on her face. No, the lips were not a safe place to rest his gaze. He took in the whole of her face and blinked.

Yukine's eyes were open and she was looking back at him.

"Ah!" Youhei yelped as if he had been caught doing what his crazed imagination had been urging.

"You've been behaving yourself." Yukine smiled up at Sunohara's panicked face.

"Yes." Youhei answered in a strained voice.

"It was difficult for you, wasn't it?" Yukine still hadn't moved other than to place her hand on his and hold his palm to her cheek.

"No, I..." Youhei couldn't lie to her. At least, he couldn't lie to her in any way that she might believe. He confessed, "Yes. I wanted so bad to… to..."

"You wanted to fondle me?" Yukine said it bluntly, "To play with my breasts?"

"No! …well yes." Youhei looked away and admitted "And to kiss you. I wanted to kiss you so bad."

"So, I could have been any girl lying here then?" Yukine offered.

"No! Well… I guess," Youhei thought about it hard, "but if you were any other girl, I don't think I would have stopped myself from playing with your… breasts."

"Oh?" Yukine smiled a bit as she watched her boyfriend figure things out.

"And I wouldn't have been interested in kissing any other girl either… at least… not so much." Youhei spoke his thoughts aloud, "Kissing you is something special… something amazing for me."

"I know it was difficult, but it makes you feel good though, doesn't it?" Yukine asked him, "Knowing that you can look at me, look into my eyes with dignity and without guilt. Knowing that when I look back at you I can look at someone I can trust, admire, and love."

"Yeah," Youhei blushed at Yukine's indirect praise.

"You, Sunohara Youhei," Yukine said as she reached up with her other hand to his face, "… are a keeper." She pulled his face down toward hers and said, "Now show me this amazing kiss and let's see if I can meet your expectations as brilliantly as you have met mine."

.

"You're not going to believe this." Sanae said as she crawled back into the futon with Akio. She had just returned from putting the sign up that her cram school would be closed today.

"Eh?" Akio asked without opening his eyes.

"Nagisa is kissing Ryou in her bedroom and Youhei is kissing Yukine in the guest bedroom." Sanae giggled and ran her hand up her husband's back. Akio's eyes popped open. He knew what that little move meant. In moments, he had rolled over and took Sanae in his arms.

"Maybe we should rename this place, Furukawa Bakery and Love Motel?" Akio jokingly suggested. Sanae giggled until Akio started kissing her. After all, giggling while someone is kissing you is difficult, not to mention rude.

.

 **Friday morning, May 30 – Ichinose House**

* * *

Tomoya woke to the smell of food cooking. Looking at the alarm, he could see that it was still very early in the morning. Opening his eyes he realized he was alone in bed… Kotomi's bed. He was still a little uncomfortable about that but Kotomi's logic was irrefutable.

Scratching his head in wonder, he recalled the conversation from last night, at the dinner table, in front of Kyou and Tomoyo.

.

 **Thursday evening, May 29 - Ichinose House** ** _Flashback_**

* * *

"Kotomi-chan?" he had started.

"Tomoya-kun?" she replied.

"If Tomoyo-chan and Kyou are going to have the two adjoining bedrooms," Tomoya asked, "where am I going to sleep?"

"You will sleep in my room." Kotomi answered simply.

"What?" Tomoya, Kyou, and Tomoyo all gasped.

"Although," Kotomi pondered, "I suppose we should call it _our_ room now."

"Kotomi-chan," Kyou protested, "isn't this a bit sudden?"

"Sudden?" Kotomi turned to Tomoya, "are we not engaged Tomoya-kun?"

"Well… yes." Tomoya replied.

"Then it is not sudden." Kotomi stated. "Besides, I have found that I sleep better when Tomoya-kun holds me."

"Kyou slept better when I held her," Tomoyo said, "but that doesn't mean I should start sleeping in the same bed with her."

"What? Hey!" Kyou glared at the powder blond, "What makes you think I sleep better when you're holding me?"

"I came into your room when I heard you crying and talking in your sleep." Tomoyo told Kyou.

"Eh?" Kyou was suddenly worried about what Tomoyo might have heard her say in her sleep.

"After I held you and comforted you," Tomoyo continued, "you slept peacefully." Tomoyo didn't mention that when she tried to leave, after Kyou had calmed down, she barely got up on her elbows when Kyou latched onto her arm and kept her from leaving.

Kyou's mouth hung open, but other than calling Tomoyo a liar, she couldn't challenge anything Tomoyo had said. And, as much as she hated to admit it, being a liar was not really in Tomoyo's nature.

"I challenge your assumption, Tomoyo-chan." Kotomi stated, "As sleep is important to good health, it stands to reason that good sleep - like good exercise, is better than poor sleep or poor exercise. Therefore, if Kyou-chan sleeps better with you in the bed with her and it is not detrimental to your quality of sleep, then perhaps you should sleep with her."

"Eh?" Kyou, still stunned, now turned her aghast gaze to Kotomi. Tomoya was watching the conversation but he couldn't help but smile as he watched Kyou's reactions to being the subject of this bizarre debate.

"You assume that this has anything to do with me." Tomoyo countered, "I happen to be the one that held Kyou this time but who is to say that she wouldn't have slept as well if she had been held by anyone else?"

"Hey, now just a minute!" Kyou cried out, but Kotomi was on a roll.

"A valid point Tomoyo-chan." Kotomi conceded, "We should test the hypothesis tonight."

"Test?" Kyou squeaked.

"How would we test that?" Tomoyo asked Kotomi. Tomoya's and Kyou's curious eyes also switched back to Kotomi to hear the answer to that question.

"Simple Tomoyo-chan," Kotomi stated, "You will hold me while I go to sleep and Tomoya-kun will hold Kyou-chan while she goes to sleep."

"What?" Tomoya, Kyou, and Tomoyo all cried out at Kotomi.

"Tomoyo-chan's argument may be valid against my assumption that I sleep better with Tomoya-kun holding me," Kotomi completely misread their reaction, "so my assumption about myself should be tested as well."

Tomoya was holding his head in his hands.

Kyou was still looking like she was in shock as she stared at Kotomi with open mouth and unbelieving eyes.

"Living in this house is going to be very interesting." Tomoyo said as she took another bite of her dinner.

.

Neither Kyou nor Tomoyo ended up staying over that night so Tomoyo's argument to Kotomi's hypothesis remained untested. Tomoya wondered if they would ever would. He found it unlikely that either Kyou or Tomoyo would be willing to actually test that theory.

.

 **Friday morning, May 30 – the walk to school**

* * *

As Tomoya and Kotomi left the house in the darkness of the early morning, they saw Tomoyo at the gate to the street. Like Tomoya, she was wearing her gym clothes since she would be going straight to the basketball therapy session. She and Tomoya carried gym bags with their school uniforms that they would change into later.

"Tomoyo-chan?" Tomoya called, "Have you been waiting for us?"

"Not long," Tomoyo replied, "I wanted to chat with you on the way to school, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all." Tomoya replied. "Is this about moving in?"

"No," Tomoyo lost her look of concentration for a moment, "although that question is resolved. I can move in this Sunday if you still want me here."

"If I still want you?" Kotomi asked.

"I have a… checkered past that could be embarrassing for you, if it comes to light." Tomoyo admitted.

"Tomoyo-chan," Kotomi spoke up, "I understand that you had a troubled past but that is not something I hold against you. The person you are now is the person that I have extended the invitation to."

"Thank you, Kotomi… chan." Tomoyo was not used to using honorifics and worried that she had used this one incorrectly.

"You are welcome, Tomoyo-chan."

"So, what is it that you wanted to chat about?" Tomoya asked.

"Tomoya...kun," Tomoyo explained, "you may not remember this since you blacked out when it happened. It was after Sunohara and Miyazawa came into the room. There was a bright flash and from that point to now, I can remember a strange little girl called Fuko."

"Really?" Tomoya thought about it. "Yeah, I remember Fuko now too."

"As do I." Kotomi added.

"I would like to understand why I forgot someone so completely, and why I now remember her." Tomoyo said.

"Let's see," Tomoya tried to think of the best way to explain Fuko, "Do you remember going to the high school on a Sunday recently. It was a few weeks back and it was for the wedding of Ibuki Kouko and Yoshino Yusuke?"

Tomoya proceeded to tell them about the girl that carved the hand-made wooden starfish and handed them out in the hopes that everyone would come to her sister's wedding. There was disbelief on Tomoyo's face when he revealed that the Fuko they saw was an ikiryo and the real Fuko was in a coma ward at a nearby hospital.

"That sounds a bit far-fetched Tomoya-kun," Tomoyo said, "can you prove it?"

"I don't need to prove it." Tomoya smiled, "You can see for yourself if you visit her at the hospital. But you might not want to do that."

"Why not?" Kotomi asked.

"Sunohara visited her at the hospital back then and immediately forgot everything he knew about her." Tomoya recalled the memory of Sunohara wondering why he had gone to a hospital in the first place. He had forgotten everything about Fuko after seeing her real body.

"The effect must not be permanent." Kotomi observed, "It seems that Youhei-kun remembered Fuko-chan before any of us."

They all remembered that horrid night that started in Nagisa's bedroom when Yukine and Youhei showed up. They were talking about Fuko before any of the rest of them could see her or remember her.

"Maybe it's because he's an idiot?" Tomoya didn't even get to laugh before something slammed him in the back of the head. "Ow!" he cried out and spun around to see what was assailing him. On the ground at his feet was a wooden starfish. The three of them looked up to see a short girl with clenched fists and a furious scowl on her face.

"Sunohara is not an idiot, you take that back!" Fuko demanded.

"Fuko-chan," Kotomi interjected, "do you know that Sunohara-san and Tomoya-kun are close friends?"

"Sunohara-san shouldn't be friends with him!" Fuko pointed at Tomoya, "Sunohara-san is nice. He is a good guy. But Okazaki-san is mean!"

"It may appear that he is mean, and I do not claim to understand the dynamics myself," Kotomi explained, "but friends often say such things about each other in jest and it is not really intended as an insult."

"Huh?" Fuko looked utterly confused.

"She is saying that Okazaki is not mean just because he called Sunohara an idiot." Tomoyo tried to simplify the message for the angry girl.

"Fuko knows he is mean!" Fuko yelled, "Okazaki was mean to Fuko! Fuko wanted to stay with Ushio. Fuko can't find Ushio anywhere now! Ushio is gone…"

"Ushio?" Tomoyo asked.

"The daughter of Tomoya-kun and Nagisa-chan, apparently." Kotomi said.

"Oh… WHAT?" Tomoyo gasped. She was more confused than ever now.

"I'll explain later." Tomoya said quietly to Tomoyo, then turned to Fuko, "Fuko, you know that place was falling apart, right?

"Fuko won't listen to the mean guy!" she screamed, "You used to just be weird, but even so, you did something nice for Fuko when you were with Nagisa-chan." Fuko started to cry, "Why did you leave Nagisa-chan? Why did you forget Fuko? Why did you take Fuko away from Ushio?"

"I didn't leave Nagisa-chan, she is still my friend. Fuko… I" Tomoya didn't know how to start explaining all of this. So much had happened that he still didn't understand. If he had been given more time to talk with winter Tomoya in that strange place, maybe he might understand things enough. But that world had fallen apart and Tomoya doubted he could ever get back there again.

"Fuko will never forgive you," Fuko sobbed. She clenched her fists and screamed, "FUKO WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" Turning on her heel, she ran off away from the three stunned students. It was still dark outside but she seemed to disappear into the shadows faster than what should have been possible.

Tomoya, Kotomi, and Tomoyo were still looking in the direction Fuko had fled when they saw movement and noticed Youhei and Yukine coming toward them. Tomoyo was the first to notice that they were holding hands as they approached. She smiled as she thought of the recalcitrant Sunohara and the quiet girl that had tamed him, holding hands. That may not be the way others would see the couple but that would always be her view of them. She smiled as she observed their happiness. Soon Tomoya and Kotomi saw what Tomoyo did, and were smiling at the sight of the happy couple as well.

Youhei had taken Yukine's hand at the base of the hill and was ready to let go and apologize if she wasn't ready for that yet. Sure, they had held hands before, but this was the path to the school and, early as it was, it was possible that someone could see them like this.

When Yukine felt Youhei's hand take hers, she smiled and held onto his hand. He still seemed timid about holding her hand but he was slowly becoming more confident. For a guy that everyone had dismissed as a hardcore delinquent, Youhei was actually quite shy in a relationship. Yukine didn't mind though; she didn't necessarily want to take the lead, but she did enjoy guiding him and shaping him into the man she wanted him to be. She had worried about his reaction to her guidance but he seemed to be taking it well. After all, she wasn't really trying to change him so much as help him to be the person he had the potential to be – had he not been derailed by the unfortunate events with the soccer club.

Youhei was walking on air. Yukine was holding his hand and he felt like an eagle soaring amongst the clouds. It was still dark outside but there seemed to be color everywhere. The sun was still below the horizon but the sky seemed to be lighting up with a thousand shades of blue. The few clouds in the sky were catching reflected light and lighting up golden edges around puffy whites and grays. The trees were still in darkness but there was enough light to see that the leaves were green instead of the blackness of the dead of night. The clear purple of Kotomi eyes and the blue eyes of Tomoyo's and his friend Tomoya's…

"Ah! A startled Youhei jumped away from Yukine as he realized they were being watched.

"Youhei-kun?" Yukine looked at her abandoned hand and up at Youhei. "Are you embarrassed to be seen holding my hand in front of your friends?"

"What?" Youhei blushed as he looked back at Tomoyo, Kotomi, and Tomoya again to make sure he hadn't seen an apparition, then he looked back at Yukine. "No, I'm not. But I don't have a very good reputation and I thought maybe you might not want to be seen with a guy like me..."

"Youhei-kun," Yukine smiled as she held out her hand for Sunohara to take back, "soon you will know me well enough to know that I am not like that. And, although I welcome those days of discovery between us, you will just have to trust me for now. You must believe that it would not bother me in the least if the whole school knows that my boyfriend is Sunohara Youhei." Youhei's astonished smile matched his surprised but very happy eyes.

"You make me feel like an eagle," Youhei said as he took the offered hand and looked deep into Yukine's beautiful blue eyes.

"Soaring through a crystal blue sky." Tomoya said as he took Kotomi's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Kotomi gasped but said nothing. Even though she had held hands with Tomoya many times now, she still felt the lurch of her soul as it was stirred from dim complacency to dazzling brilliance by the touch of his hand. Kotomi was barely aware that they were all walking to the gym again, such was her overwhelmed mind at the moment. Youhei's and Tomoya's comments meshed with her own feelings of lightness and soaring spirits. One of Kotomi's favorite English poems came to mind as they walked together.

 _Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth  
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;  
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth  
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things  
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung  
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,  
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung  
My eager craft through footless halls of air..._

 _Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue  
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.  
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —  
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod  
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,  
_– _Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.*_

.

 **Friday noon, May 30 – Classroom 3D**

* * *

"If I could have your attention," the teacher announced to the room even though he was a few minutes early into the classroom, "Fujibayashi Ryou is back today and would like to make an announcement to the class." Everyone in the room made their way to their seats and wondered what was happening. There had been rumors that Furukawa Nagisa had made a complete recovery. Some doubted that was possible, but others were saying they had even seen her at school that day. In the back of the room, Tomoya and Youhei slipped out their cell phones and disabled the sound and flash so they wouldn't be seen taking pictures.

"Good morning," Ryou had just a little blush as she addressed the class, "I am Fujibayashi Ryou." There were some light giggles and a little laughter then. "I… I guess you already know that." Her embarrassment was growing and she was afraid she would not be able to speak in front of a room like she had planned.

In the back of the room, Youhei and Tomoya saw her distress. They looked at each other and Youhei nodded. Quietly bringing their fists down three times Tomoya lost with paper to Youhei's scissors. Tomoya put his phone away and got up. As he started walking toward the front of the room, the teacher stood as well.

The teacher thought about asking Okazaki to return to his seat but he remembered the care that the young man had taken for Fujibayashi just the other day. Still, he had a reputation as a troublemaker… He looked hard at Okazaki and saw his stare returned. There was strength and determination in Okazaki's eyes. The teacher determined that this was not the look of a sneak or a schemer. Sitting back down, he watched Okazaki walk to the front of the class behind Ryou.

"Ryou-chan," Tomoya quietly said as he placed his hand on Ryou's downcast head, "you can do this. These are your friends and you have happy news. Don't bother with any memorized script, just tell them what you want them to know. Tell them from your heart." Ryou looked up into Tomoya's eyes. He let his hand slip from her head to her shoulder.

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun!" Ryou smiled. Then turning to the class she told them, "First, I would like to thank you all for the support I felt. I got so many useful notes from so many of you and I heard that some of you even made notes for Okazaki-kun as well. Thank you very much!" With that said, both Tomoya and Ryou bowed to the class.

Several of the students in the class said a welcome but the class quieted down when Ryou stood and continued.

"I would also like to tell you the good news that Furukawa Nagisa has made a full recovery and, as I'm sure some of you have already heard, she is back in school today!"

Ryou paused for a moment to let the class cheer and give congratulatory comments.

"I would like to thank Suzuki-san for taking over as class representative while I was out." At Tomoya's nod, Suzuki stood up and the class gave a polite applause. He was about to sit down when Ryou stopped him, "Just a minute. Suzuki-san, if you don't mind, I would ask you to continue as the class representative as I am going to be very busy with the Drama Club." Ryou turned to the seated teacher, "As long as that is okay with you, sensei?" The teacher stood and addressed the class more than just Ryou.

"Suzuki has been a very conscientious class representative." his eyes fell on Suzuki now, "I have no problem with him continuing in that role."

Suzuki was shocked. He had not planned on having this position for more than a week at the most. But still… he looked at Ryou and saw the pleading in her eyes. He knew that she was counting on him to release her from these responsibilities. Turning back to the teacher he said, Thank you sensei, I will do my best."

Tomoya was about to walk away. This is all that he was aware that Ryou planned to tell the class. He had only started to move when Ryou's hand came up and held his hand to her shoulder. He knew she needed him to stay with her for a little longer and he suspected what it was that she might be about to say. He moved closer behind her and gave her shoulder a squeeze to let her know he would stay there to support her.

"Finally, there is something I need to say that might upset some of you." Ryou blushed as she pushed herself through the fear of the moment, "You are my classmates so you deserve to know the truth when you start hearing the rumors." Ryou paused and looked down.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." Tomoya said quietly.

"I need to." Ryou sighed, "I'm tired of hiding it and being ashamed." Looking up she said to the class, "I am in love with Furukawa Nagisa. We are girlfriends. I don't really know what this means yet, but I've never felt more alive and in love than when I'm with her." Having finished her announcement, she steeled herself for the onslaught of hurtful words.

The class was stunned. Sure, there had been rumors but there were always rumors about people in high school. Suzuki was still on his feet and, though he had nothing to do with that announcement, he found that many of his classmates that were not still staring at Ryou were looking to him. It hit him that this was a defining moment. This was one of those rare occasions when the class representative did something more than carrying folders or organizing the classroom chore roster. This was a moment to lead. How the class reacted as a whole would be determined by what he did next. He looked at Okazaki but he was looking back at the classmates that were still staring at Ryou. Suzuki looked back at Sunohara and saw a quirky smile. Sunohara, the class clown and delinquent that had nominated him for this job, was giving him a smile and a thumbs-up gesture. He was stunned to think that Sunohara had confidence in him. Turning back to Ryou and Tomoya, he saw that even though poor Fujibayashi Ryou was scared to death of what might happen next, Okazaki was also confident. No-one else in the room, not even the teacher seemed to know what to do in this situation. Seeing the confidence of Okazaki and Sunohara, Suzuki made his decision.

"Fujibayashi Ryou," he bowed to the blushing lavender haired girl at the front of the room, "Thank you for this honor. It will be my goal to become as deserving as you already think that I am. Please count me among the friends that will be supportive."

"Thank you for this honor." another student stood and bowed. Then another and another. Suzuki was stunned that this was actually working. Ryou was stunned at the supportive outpouring. In the end, not every student would be supportive but no-one was unkind either.

.

 **Friday afternoon, May 30 – High School Administration Building**

* * *

"Koumura-sensei," Kotomi's familiar lilting voice made Toshio smile as he looked up from his desk. He saw that Kotomi was not alone this time and Tomoya was behind her carrying a large gift-wrapped box.

"Kotomi-chan, Tomoya-kun, welcome!" Toshio smiled as he gestured to a seat, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Good news I hope!"

"You have already heard that Furukawa Nagisa has recovered?" Kotomi asked.

"Yes indeed," Toshio smiled, "you often wish people a speedy recovery but it rarely ever happens that way. I am very happy for her."

"As are we." Kotomi smiled, "If you have a few moments, I thought this would be a good time to give you some of those success stories you asked for."

"Yes, that would be most welcome." Toshio beamed, then offered, "Would you care for some tea, Kotomi-chan, Tomoya-kun? It would be from a thermos as I do not have a proper tea set here."

"Maybe next time," Kotomi smiled. "Where shall I begin?"

"Wherever you like." Toshio looked at Tomoya and noticed that the boy looked healthier and more confident than he had ever seen him. The reports from his homeroom teacher had been very encouraging as well.

"Tomoya and I are engaged to be married." Kotomi told him proudly.

"I had heard something about that," Toshio smiled, "I'm glad it is true, congratulations to both of you!"

"Thank you, sensei." both Tomoya and Kotomi said.

"Have you talked about when the wedding will be?" Toshio asked.

"No," Kotomi said, "but I would like to have the wedding before we leave for America."

"So, during the summer or winter break?" Toshio remembered that Kotomi planned to leave as soon as possible for America so they could be better acclimated to the area and the culture before school started.

"Preferably during the summer break I suppose," Kotomi seemed deep in thought, "we may be leaving for America during the winter break."

"Hmmmm," Toshio rubbed his chin, "that won't be a problem for you Kotomi-chan, but with all the tardies and absences that Okazaki has, he may not be able to graduate if he leaves early."

"Yes, I was afraid of that." Kotomi said, "I suppose I could leave with Kyou-chan and Tomoya-kun could follow as soon as he is able?"

"Fujibayashi Kyou?" Toshio was surprised, "Is she going to America with you?"

"Yes," Kotomi said, "she will be moving into the Ichinose House along with Sakagami Tomoyo soon, as a preparation."

"Sakagami Tomoyo is a second year." Toshio asked, "You're not planning on taking her too are you?"

"No," Kotomi answered, "but she has mastered conversational English and we will be using her fluency and mine to bring up Tomoya-kun's and Kyou-chan's English proficiency as quickly as possible."

"I see," Toshio hoped that would help the powder blond out as well. He was aware that her home life was not the best environment and could see a troubled future for the struggling girl if some of her past misfortunes came back to haunt her. "Speaking of Kyou-chan, how is she faring with the Karate Club?"

"They accepted her and she is giving it her best effort, but I believe she is saddened because she is no longer with us in the mornings." Kotomi said with a bit of sorrow.

"That reminds me," Toshio looked at Tomoya now, "I'm afraid your basketball therapy will be coming to an end with the end of this semester."

"Why?" Tomoya asked. It wasn't that he had started to enjoy getting up so early every morning but he did feel better and his arm was moving better than it had since the injury.

"When the new semester starts, the gym and the instructor that you have borrowed will be needed for other things." Toshio answered. He looked at the despondent expressions on their faces then offered, "Have you considered another morning project that could have beneficial results?"

"Not really." Tomoya answered. He hadn't thought of anything else since he had been enjoying the basketball sessions with Kyou, Tomoyo, and Youhei. The idea that it would come to an end hadn't hit him until Koumura mentioned it.

"Do you have an idea, sensei?" Kotomi asked the old counselor.

"Well, I don't claim to know everything about Karate, but I don't think there is much that requires you to lift your arm above your head." Toshio told them.

"Oh!" Tomoya and Kotomi looked at each other. Kotomi said, "It would certainly make Kyou-chan happy."

"And since you are all three starting out from the beginning, it is something you could participate in as well, Kotomi-chan." Toshio offered.

"Eh?" Kotomi's eyes snapped back to Koumura and went wide in shock at the idea.

"That's not a bad idea," Tomoya added, "it is supposed to be a good exercise."

"And, as you have already pointed out Kotomi-chan," Toshio smiled, "It helps to build confidence and self control."

"Control is good Kotomi-chan," Tomoya said with a sparkle in his eye, "after all, you can be a little clumsy."

"Tomoya-kun..." Kotomi said with a hurt voice. She felt better when his arm went around her and he pulled her close. She briefly hoped he would apologize and back away from the idea but that was not his intention.

"Don't worry," Tomoya encouraged her," Kyou-chan and I will be there with you. Hey, maybe Youhei and Tomoyo-chan will join up too?"

"Well…" Kotomi negotiated, "I will if Yukine-chan will."

"Miyazawa Yukine?" Toshio asked.

"Yes." Tomoya answered, "She is Youhei's girlfriend, if you can believe that."

"I had heard something about that," Toshio laughed, "but it shouldn't be a problem to get her in the club. I believe she was quite active in martial arts before she came to this school."

Kotomi saw her excuse slipping away as she watched Tomoya and Koumura getting excited in the prospect of getting all their friends together in an activity in the last semester they would be together in high school. She was worried that she wouldn't be any good at it. She had never been very physical and preferred activities that were not confrontational. Fighting was a combination of the two things that scared her most: confrontational and physical. She looked up to Tomoya to beg out of this deal.

When she looked at him, she could see the eagerness in his face. He was looking forward to doing this with all of his friends and she was one of them. Kotomi thought about how she had challenged both Tomoya and Kyou to conquer their fears and roadblocks. They had both done so well. Both of them had given her their best and they still were. How could she ask that of them and back down without trying when it was time for her own test? Kotomi despised herself for thinking about giving up so easily. Like Tomoya and Kyou, she would give it her best and who knows, she might even like it. Well… at least she might not hate it.

.

After Koumura saw them out, he noticed that they had left the large gift wrapped box on his table. He opened his door to call for them but they were already gone. He was about to have a note sent to their homeroom when he saw that there was a note on the box. In Kotomi's precise handwriting the message said simply, "Happy Birthday, Koumura-sensei. I know it is a little early, but you may open it whenever you wish."

For a moment he thought about sending the present back to her, but no-one could say that Ichinose Kotomi was in need of buying favors from any teacher or staff member. With a smile, he decided to accept the gift and carefully began opening the wrapping. The box was plain cardboard so it wasn't until he started pulling the pieces out that he saw what it was.

A tea set. Personalized with the Hikarizaka Private High School crest. A message was inscribed on the tea pot, "To our trusted and beloved counselor, Koumura Toshio."

Toshio sat in the quiet of his office with the tea pot in his hands and wept tears of joy and thanks. Retiring at the end of this year really would be ending his career on a high note after all.

.

 **Sunday afternoon, June 1 – Ichinose House**

* * *

Kouko and Yusuke Yoshino arrived at the Ichinose House to find it full of people. Well, not as full as the birthday party they had come to before, but there were more people here than the quiet little get together they thought this was supposed to be.

"Please come in," Tomoya welcomed them with a smile."

"I brought a covered dish, but I didn't know there would be so many." Kouko apologized.

"Please don't worry about that," Tomoya laughed, "Kotomi, Tomoyo, and Kyou turned this into a cooking challenge, and Yukine brought a dish as well. We have more than enough food." he took the covered dish from Kouko and put it on the dining table after escorting the couple into the living room.

Kouko thought the room was arranged strangely. The chairs and couches were all arranged in a circle around a single small chair that was facing an empty love-seat. The other seats in the room had people that Kouko remembered from the birthday party. Sunohara-san and Yukine-chan sat together to the right of the empty love-seat. On a bigger couch to the left was Ryou-chan, Nagisa-chan, Sanae-san, and Akio-san. A smaller couch behind the central chair had Kotomi-chan on one side and Kyou-chan on the other with room, presumably, for Tomoya to sit between them. Sitting by herself in a lounger to the right of Kyou was the powder blond Tomoyo.

Tomoya gestured for Yusuke and Kouko to take their places in the available love-seat, but he made sure that Kouko was sitting on the right so she was looking directly into the empty chair in the middle of the room. As soon as they were seated, Tomoya took his seat between Kotomi and Kyou and Yukine stood up. The brown haired, blue eyed girl walked over to stand behind the empty chair before she started talking.

"I don't know if you remember me but I am a student at Hikarizaki High School along with everyone else here except Nagisa-chan's parents." Yukine introduced herself. "Tomoyo-chan and I are second years. Everyone else is a third year. Because she had to repeat her last year due to medical issues, only Nagisa-senpai would have been here when you were a teacher at the school."

"That's right, Nagisa and I talked about that before. I don't know if we were introduced at the party," Kouko smiled, "but I remember that you were the one that cared for Youhei-kun after..." Kouko suddenly noticed Kyou blushing furiously, "...after he fainted."

"Exactly," Yukine smiled, "we are going to do a little memory exercise that may confuse you at first but I think you will enjoy it. Is that okay with you?"

"This could be fun," Kouko said cheerfully, "I'm game!" Yusuke didn't care for the idea but a glance at Sunohara and he knew this was important to him at least. Yusuke would put up with a lot for that boys sake. If it hadn't been for him, instead of being excited about playing a game, his wife would be lamenting having signed the medical release to take her sister off life support and let her die.

"Great. Now I'm going to ask you a bunch of seemingly unrelated questions." Yukine then asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Kouko eagerly replied.

Yukine looked down at the chair then back up at Kouko and asked her, "when was the last time you saw Fu-chan?"

"I saw her just yesterday morning…" a troubled look was on Kouko's face as she asked, "how did you know I call her Fu-chan?"

"Don't worry," Yukine smiled and told her, "all will be revealed when you win the game."

"Um… okay." Kouko thought that sounded a little ominous but then she remembered some of the test of courage type games that she played as a teen and maybe this wasn't so weird.

"Do you know what an ikiryo is?" Yukine asked.

"Wow," Kouko laughed, "these questions really are unrelated aren't they?"

It was a little strange that no-one else seemed to find those questions odd and Yukine didn't reply other than to smile at Kouko.

"Well, as far as I recall, an ikiryo is a spirit that is sent out for revenge." Kouko was aware that there were a few different versions of what an ikiryo was but she figured this was probably the one that they would use in a spooky game.

"That is one version," Yukine said, "they can also be the spirit manifestation of someone who is asleep or unconscious. Have you ever heard that description?"

"I have." Kouko grew concerned as she noticed that the others had fairly serious expressions. Some of them were looking at her and Yukine, but many were inexplicably looking at the empty chair. Ryou and Nagisa looked like they might start crying at any moment.

"We met before Kotomi's birthday party at the high school. Do you remember that?"

"You must be mistaken Yukine-chan," Kouko said, "if you are a second year, I would have been gone for a few years before you started there."

"I wasn't there as a student at the time. I was there as a guest." Yukine seemed to reach down and touch something on the chair. Something that wasn't there. "I can understand if you don't remember me, but I remember you from the wedding at the school."

"The wedding..." suddenly Kouko gasped and looked astonished. A moment later Yusuke also had the astonished look as well. Kouko cried out, "The school! We were married at the high school! How could I not remember that?"

"Do you remember all the students that showed up for your wedding now?" Yukine seemed to be getting excited.

"Yes," Kouko put her hand to her head, "there were so many."

"Did you ever wonder why so many students, who were never in any of your classes, would come to your wedding?" Yukine asked.

"I did think that was odd, but it seemed that I knew why once… I can't quite remember..." Kouko was struggling with her suppressed memories.

"Do you remember these?" Yukine held up a wooden starfish like the ones Kouko had at home. Neither Kouko or Yusuke could remember where they had come from but Kouko was fond of the ridiculous things for some reason. Yusuke ended up hanging them on the wall as art so they would stop taking up space on counter tops. Looking around the room, Yukine and Kouko now noticed that everyone was holding up one of those strange carved wooden starfish.

"As soon as you saw these, you thought of them as starfish, didn't you?" Yukine could see that she was right in Kouko's expression. "They don't really look like starfish, do they?" Yukine flipped the thing over in her hand and said, "But there was no doubt in your mind that this was a starfish, was there?"

"No..." Kouko stared at this eerie girl and wondered how she was doing this.

"Do you remember taking Fu-chan to the beach and wishing she would play with the other kids? She never did, but she did entertain herself for hours playing with..."

"Starfish." Kouko finished the sentence. "She was fascinated by them."

"The reason we all came to the wedding was because of a little girl." Yukine turned sharply to look into the chair then smiled and explained, "I don't mean little as in a young girl. She is a little older than me, but she is small. I would say about 150 centimeters tall with brown eyes, dark brown hair tied in a big blue bow."

Kouko gasped. Yusuke took her hand and saw that she was becoming scared… or was it excited. It was hard to tell. He looked over to Youhei and the boy nodded assurance to him. He would continue to put his trust in Sunohara-san, but when this was all over, there better be a good explanation for what they were putting his wife through.

"This girl worked diligently to make as many wooden starfish as she could and give them out to anyone that would accept them. Her only request was that they would come to her sister's wedding." As Yukine was talking, she moved her hand to lay it on something. If there had been someone sitting in that chair, her hand would be on that person's head. There was something wrong with what Yusuke and Kouko were seeing. They blinked their eyes in hoped of clearing their vision up. Instead, they now saw a pair of eyes below the fingertips of Yukine's hand. Disembodied brown eyes staring back at them.

"AH!" Kouko and Yusuke both jumped back in fright at what they were seeing. The love seat almost tilted over backwards from their move, but not quite. As the furniture came back down, they could both see the eyes clearly. Brown eyes looking back at them. Kouko clutched at her husband's arm and he was briefly terrified as well. It seemed incongruous that all the other people in the room were unphased by what was appearing under Yukine's hand. Yusuke, no stranger to the stage, thought this might be a trick and started to calm down. He was about to call Yukine on it when she moved her hand away and Yusuke thought he was seeing the faint outline of hair where Yukine's hand used to be.

"Please don't be afraid." Youhei yelled at them, "You're scaring her!"

"What do you see?" Yukine asked them.

"Eyes!" Kouko trembled, "Eyes looking back at me!"

Youhei jumped out of his seat and got between the terrified couple and the chair. He bent over to get a good look. Yusuke wanted to tell him to get away from there but he stood and calmly walked back to where Kouko was cowering.

"Take a good look at the eyes, Kouko-san." Youhei said softly, "They are not menacing, they are crying."

"What?" Kouko looked back at the eyes despite her fear and saw that it was true. The tears welled up in the big brown eyes and rolled down transparent cheeks that she could barely see the outline of. "Crying? Why?"

"Kouko-san, please close your eyes and remember looking into your sister's eyes." Yukine asked the elder sister, "Remember a time when she cried when you scolded her or told her that she couldn't come with you."

Kouko closed her eyes and remembered just such a time. It was a bitter memory and one of her deepest regrets because it was one of the last memories she had with her little sister before the accident that put Fu-chan in the coma.

"Now open your eyes and look here." she heard Yukine tell her.

"OH MY GOD!" Kouko's heart skipped a beat. Those were her little sister's eyes. She knew it now. There was no mistake but…

"We can all see her, Yoshino-san. We know who she is." Youhei confirmed what the stressed woman was thinking.

"She is only waiting for you to acknowledge her." Yukine said, "She misses you so much."

"Fu-chan!" Kouko cried out. As she did, the apparition became whole and Kouko could clearly see her little sister in the Hikarizaka High School winter uniform with a big blue bow tying back her long hair. She appeared just as she had on that fateful day so long ago. Kouko was letting go of her husband to go to Fuko when the beloved ball of sobbing little sister launched into her lap.

"Onee-chan!" Fuko wailed as she clung to her beloved big sister. Both sisters held each other and cried.

Yusuke looked over at Youhei in disbelief. There weren't many people that Yusuke would blindly trust, but Youhei… After this, if Youhei told him that the sky was purple, and he saw only blue, he would have his eyes checked.

* * *

*"High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Disciplinary Committee

**Monday morning, June 2 – High School Administration Building**

* * *

"Good morning, Koumura-san." Kouko called through the open door, "Do you have a moment?"

"Ah, Ibuki-san!" Toshio called out, "Please come in… or I should say, Yoshino-san, please come in." He smiled and added, "My congratulations. It was a lovely wedding."

"You… you remember the wedding?" Kouko asked hopefully.

"Of course," Toshio cheered, "I'm not so dilapidated that I cannot remember a wedding within the last few months and besides, there aren't that many weddings at a high school, after all."

"So, do you remember my sister Fuko?" she asked.

"Indeed," he sounded more serious this time, "I suppose she is still in the coma. Is there any hope that she might return to us soon?"

"The doctors tell me there is always hope." Kouko sat down at the indicated seat and watched as Toshio set out a set of saucers and cups for tea. "There was a recent improvement in her physical and mental readings so I am very hopeful."

"That's wonderful news!" Toshio said as he sat down with a lovely tea pot.

"It is… yes." Kouko was visibly fidgeting.

Koumura had been pretending not to notice but he decided he would take pity on her. "You have a favor to ask of me?" Koumura smiled as he poured a surprised Kouko some tea.

"Yes… well, two actually." Kouko admitted.

"I suppose one of them is to ask for the High School to host the wedding for Okazaki Tomoya and Ichinose Kotomi?"

"Eh?" Kouko almost spilled her tea in her lap, "How did you know?"

"I heard from Kotomi herself that she would like for the wedding to be during the summer break," Koumura explained, "and I figured you would be asking to use the high school for them, to return the favor."

"The favor?" Kouko felt like she was missing something.

"You didn't know that it was Tomoya-kun that requested the high school for your wedding?" Koumura asked.

"Ah!" Kouko hated how some memories didn't seem to come back until something triggered them.

"In any event," Koumura gave her a handwritten note with several dates on it and told the slightly shaken teacher, "I have already looked into it and any of those dates should be fine."

"I see," Kouko thankfully accepted the note. One of her requests had been accepted so easily that it had raised her hopes for the second one. "About the other request. I would like to return to teaching here."

.

 **Monday noon, June 2 – Drama Club room**

* * *

"Our little group is not so little any more." Kyou pointed out.

Looking around the room made that quite clear. In addition to the usual group that gathered here for lunch, the room now hosted Rie, Sugisaka, and Harada from the choir club as well as Yukine and Fuko. Four tables had been put together so that everyone could eat together, but the choir club members sat with each other and seemed nervous about being in the room with this extraordinary group with so many… interesting personalities. Nagisa and Ryou didn't scare them but just about everyone else did. Tomoya and Youhei were known to be delinquents. Kyou and Tomoya could mete out extreme levels of violence at a moments notice. Kotomi was some kind of super-genius, and Yukine was just plain spooky. At the moment, they couldn't see Fuko, but that might only make things all the more nerve-wracking for the three unassuming second-years.

"I would like to thank all of you for agreeing to combine our two clubs!" Nagisa gushed to the three choir girls.

"You're very welcome," Rie said, "it was Sugisaka's idea. I think it is the best way to solve the sponsor problem."

"Thank you Sugisaka-chan," Kyou looked pointedly at the fretting girl and said, "I think you came up with a brilliant solution."

"You do?" Sugisaka said with some relief. She remembered all too well the lesson she learned from the frightening third year that afternoon behind the gym. On that awful afternoon, she vowed that she would never willingly do anything to upset Fujibayashi Kyou again as long as she lived.

"Yes... and kohai," Kyou gave her a predators smile, "as long as Rie-chan forgives you, I do too."

Sugisaka swallowed hard. She was too terrified to speak. She wondered if a mesmerized mouse was this terrified when it looked into the eyes of a cobra.

"I have already forgiven Sugisaka," Rie put her hand on the shoulder of her well intentioned but reckless friend, "she has promised never to do anything foolish like that again."

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi asked from the other side of Tomoya, "you're not being a bully are you?"

"Huh?" Kyou seemed to be suddenly flustered.

 _Is this possible?_ Sugisaka wondered. She looked down the table and saw the cautionary looks that Tomoyo and Tomoya were both giving Kyou and she could tell that Kyou was genuinely scared of what they might think of her. She wondered how Kotomi could have such power over someone so dangerous. She could clearly see that Kyou did not want to do anything that the others would disapprove of.

"She is not bullying me senpai," Sugisaka said to Kotomi as she stood up, "I was the one that acted like a bully to Nagisa-senpai. I was the one that sent her the threatening note to stop trying to resume the Drama Club. Kyou-senpai challenged me to change my ways and ask for forgiveness from those whose feelings I had hurt. She was just checking up on me to see if I had redeemed myself."

Kyou was speechless as she looked at Sugisaka from across the tables.

"Oh," Kotomi said, "I really don't like bullies, but if Kyou-chan is satisfied that you are no longer a bully, I will trust you."

Sugisaka was again stunned. Kotomi obviously trusted Kyou implicitly in this matter. For all she knew, Kotomi might trust Kyou implicitly in everything. She wondered if her own bond of friendship with Rie and Harada was that close.

"You can sit down Sugisaka-chan," Kyou said with an affectionate smile this time, "all is forgiven and I believe you will do the right thing from now on."

"Thank you, senpai." Sugisaka said as she sat down. Strangely, Kyou's voice sounded… kind. She sounded as if there would be no grudge that she would have to endure. Impossible…

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi asked, "how are your karate lessons?"

 _That's it? Just like that the matter is closed?_ Sugisaka was stunned again as she looked at Kotomi who had clearly finished with this issue and was on to the next topic of conversation. _Wait a minute, what did Kotomi just ask? Karate lessons? Someone as dangerous as Fujibayashi Kyou is taking Karate lessons? Won't she become even more dangerous that way? What are these people thinking?_ Sugisaka imagined Kyou starting off breaking concrete blocks with her hands and working her way up to breaking the school building in two.

"It's okay I guess." Kyou's mood was suddenly more despondent.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi said to her boyfriend, "if there is nothing more to be gained from your basketball therapy, perhaps we can move up our plans."

"I have enjoyed playing basketball with Youhei-kun and Tomoyo-chan," Tomoya replied, "but I don't like seeing Kyou sad like this." Tomoya put his hand on Kyou's head and smiled at her.

"What plans?" Kyou asked.

Sugisaka was stunned that Kyou was accepting Tomoya's hand on her head like that. No, it was more than accepting, she was sitting up straighter under his touch as if contact with him was dispelling her sadness. Could it be that she was pining for his affection right in front of his girlfriend?

"Kotomi-chan and I are going to be joining you in the Karate club." Tomoya told Kyou, "and we may not be the only ones."

Kyou's eyes opened wide. She looked as if she had just been told there were more presents for her under the tree that she hadn't opened yet. She followed Tomoya's eyes and looked over at Youhei and Yukine.

"We are thinking of joining too." Youhei said proudly as he held Yukine's hand.

"That is," Yukine added, "if you don't think Youhei-kun will be too distracting."

"I..." Kyou was about to say something insulting to Youhei but she could see they were both thinking of her when they made this decision, "I look forward to it."

"Ryou-chan and I have talked it over too." Nagisa said cheerfully, "We will be too busy with other activities before the summer break but we want to join you in the Karate club too."

"Thank you Nagisa-chan," Kyou's eyes felt a little wet, "you're so sweet."

"Of course, you are invited to join us as well." Tomoya said to Harada, Rie, and Sugisaka.

"I've never thought about it before," Rie said, "but doing something like that with friends sounds like it could be fun." She looked at Harada and Sugisaka and got supportive nods, then said, "We'll see how it fits in our schedule but I want to try."

"How about you Fuko?" Kyou asked then froze. She had forgotten that three people in the room couldn't see Fuko yet.

"Who is Fuko?" Harada asked the question that was also on the faces of Rie and Sugisaka.

"Allow me to explain." Yukine said as she got up and walked around behind a seemingly empty chair and leaned on it, "Have any of you ever heard of an ikiryo?"

.

Outside in the courtyard, several students looked up when they heard the voices of three girls yell, "WHAT?" Then, a few minutes later they were more startled when they heard the same three voices scream. A few teachers passing by were also concerned, but Koumura only smiled as he looked at the blooming flowers in the planters in front of the old building that housed, among other things, the Resource Room, the Music Room, and the Drama Club.

.

 **Thursday evening, June 5 – The Walk Home**

* * *

"How many more people do you want to bring in?" Youhei asked his girlfriend as they walked toward the gate to the tree lined walkway.

"We need more second-years," Yukine was thinking, "and some first-years too."

"Eh?" Youhei didn't expect that answer.

"Think about it," Yukine told Youhei, "most of the Drama Club will be gone at the end of this school year and all of us second years will be gone the year after that.. If Fuko doesn't wake up from her coma by then, she will be all alone again."

"I'm sorry Fuko," Youhei apologized, "I guess I wasn't thinking. When you're with us like this, I forget that you're really in a coma somewhere."

"It's okay," Fuko chirped, "Fuko knows you weren't trying to be mean."

"So what do we do?" Youhei asked. Before he could get an answer, he heard someone call out to him.

"Sunohara-san!" Kouko called out from the entrance gate, "I got an urgent message to meet you here at this time. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Youhei looked around, "Where is Yoshino-san?"

"He had to work late." Kouko was a bit put off at Youhei's seeming lack of urgency. She started to wonder if this was a prank, "If it isn't an emergency..."

"Kouko-san" Yukine said cheerfully, "do you have the note with you?"

"Yes," Kouko fished it out of her purse, "it's right here."

"Look at the note carefully and tell me who's handwriting it is, if you can." Yukine told the confused woman.

"It looks like..." Kouko couldn't believe her eyes. A growing sense of confusion was overwhelming her as she admitted, "it looks like my handwriting."

"It is your handwriting," Yukine said, "but you don't remember writing it, do you?"

"No, I..." Kouko put her hand to her head. It felt like she had a headache coming on.

"Right now you are confused and your head is starting to hurt," Yukine took Kouko's hands and held them out in front of her and said, "but I will help to make you feel better. Will you trust me?"

"Yes," Kouko wasn't quite sure why she did, but she felt that she could trust this strange blue-eyed girl, "I do trust you."

"Close your eyes and imagine looking into your sister's eyes." Yukine told her as she let go of Kouko's hands, "and say 'remember Fu-chan.' Keep saying it until you feel someone grab your hands then open your eyes."

"Remember Fu-chan." Kouko said. Almost immediately, she felt her hands seized again. When she opened her eyes, she almost screamed when she saw her little sister standing in front of her. She was wearing the Hikarizaki High School winter uniform. Before she could scream, the memories came flooding back and she fell to her knees as she wrapped her arms around her younger sister's ikiryo.

"It's good to see you again, onee-chan." Fuko put her arms around her sister's neck and hugged her too.

"Oh Fu-chan, I'm so sorry." Kouko wailed, "I forgot you again. Why.."

"Kouko-san," Yukine reminded her of what she had been told for the last four days, "Even though you are probably the closest person to Fu-chan, this will be very difficult for you since you have also seen her actual body the most."

"I know… I just..." Kouko couldn't say it out loud because she would worry Fuko, but she felt like such a terrible sister for not remembering.

"Good news though," Youhei sounded cheerful, "it looks like you only had to say it once this time. That's a lot better than last time."

"You may be able to remember her as well as Youhei soon." Yukine cheered as Youhei offered Kouko a hand to get back on her feet.

"Really?" Kouko asked hopefully.

"Yes," Yukine smiled. The four of them now started back down the winding path amongst the sakura trees with Youhei holding Yukine's hand and a thrilled Fuko holding Kouko's hand.

"Have you heard anything from the school yet about getting your job back?" Youhei asked.

"I can start at the beginning of the next school year," Kouko seemed disheartened, "but they don't have anything for me before then."

"Hmm," Youhei's sneaky side was putting idea's in his head, "I wonder if you couldn't volunteer as an assistant advisor for the Performance club?"

"The Performance Club?" Kouko hadn't heard of that one.

"They finally allowed us to merge the Drama Club and the Choir Club to get around the issue of sharing an advisor." Youhei explained.

"Is that going to work?" Kouko sounded doubtful.

"I believe so," Yukine told her, "some of us will sing with them and we'll do the lights and sound for their performances. They, in turn, will perform the background music for Nagisa's play."

"It sounds like you already have everything worked out," Kouko was impressed, "what will you need me for?"

"You are an art teacher, right?" Yukine said, "We could use your help to turn Nagisa's descriptions into set pieces."

"Oh yes, I can help with that," Kouko felt thrilled that there was some way she could contribute. After all, Fuko would be there as well and Kouko was thankful for every chance she got to spend time with her little sister's ikiryo.

"Fuko will help with the set pieces too!" Fuko announced.

"I knew I could count on your help Fu-chan," Kouko then asked Youhei and Yukine, "do we know what play Nagisa has decided to perform?"

"Not really." Youhei said.

"She remembers the story but can't remember the name of the play." Yukine added, "She is going to run down the story for us tomorrow after school, in the Drama Club room. You should come too."

"That sounds like fun." Kouko decided she would try to make that meeting after talking with Koumura-san about permission to volunteer as an assistant advisor for the club.

.

 **Friday afternoon, June 6 - Drama Club room**

* * *

A ring of chairs were set up for the combined Performance Club to gather and hear Nagisa's description of the play they would be putting on. Kyou, Tomoya, and Kotomi sat together. Ryou sat next to her sister but had an empty seat next to her where Nagisa would sit when she was finished giving her presentation and answering questions. Youhei sat next to Yukine, Kouko sat next to Fuko, and the members of the Choir Club sat with each other. Koumura was sitting next to Harada of the former Choir Club.

Only Tomoyo was missing, but everyone knew that she was busy with her position as the new Student Council President. She was enjoying a huge boost to her popularity as the story of how she participated in saving the lives of Furukawa Nagisa and Okazaki Tomoya got out. A growing number of first years were starting to show up at the morning Karate Club workouts to see Tomoyo, Kyou, and Yukine go through their exercises and occasionally spar with each other. Yukine had amazing technique and form, Kyou had raw power, and Tomoyo had both. At least, that was how their fans were putting it. At first, Kyou had been put off at how much better Tomoyo looked in the comparisons with her, but Yukine pointed out that as Kyou's technique improved, that gap would get smaller and smaller.

Nagisa had already told everyone that she still couldn't remember the name of the play or even where or when she remembered seeing it.

"Try describing the opening scene." Kouko suggested.

"Okay," Nagisa closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if remembering something from long ago, "There is a wooden room, like a cabin. It is empty except for a single table and a chair. There are a row of big windows along one wall and you can see empty, green rolling hills all the way to the horizon. The scene may sound pretty, but this world is full of loneliness."

"Eh?" both Fuko and Tomoya gasped.

"What?" Nagisa opened her eyes and looked at the shocked expressions on the faces of Fuko and Tomoya.

"No..." Tomoya said as if in a trance, "There is also a heater in the room… and there are mountains in the far distance on the horizon."

"And snow." Fuko said, "the hills aren't green. There is snow everywhere and it's cold. It's so cold."

"Okazaki," Koumura asked, "Have you seen this play too?"

"It's not a play, it's a place!" Fuko objected.

"It's the place where Ushio died." the sadness in Tomoya's voice filled the room.

"Ushio is not dead!" Fuko jumped out of her seat and shouted at Tomoya.

"Who is Ushio?" Rie asked. Only the choir girls were confused. Everyone else had heard the story so they could understand why Fuko was still mad at Tomoya. Even Koumura had heard the story in one of Kotomi's visits to his office. Besides the rather supernatural possibilities that were implied, Kotomi had offered a scientific explanation involving parallel worlds and threads and strings and panes… Koumura didn't pretend to understand the details of what Kotomi had told him, but he had enjoyed listening to the brilliant teen nonetheless.

Nagisa was stunned. She too had heard Tomoya's story of that place he went to when he was stricken with the freezing symptoms. But Tomoya had never described the place in detail and Nagisa never knew the name of the girl in her story, so she had never connected his story to hers before.

"The opening scene is green." To Nagisa it seemed that the story Fuko and Tomoya knew was a little different or maybe they didn't see all of the story. "It isn't until the final scene that the world is covered in snow."

"Fuko never saw it green." Fuko told Nagisa.

"Nagisa-chan," Tomoya looked up to the girl standing in the middle of the room, "this is a pretty sad story, That world is doomed. It comes apart in the end and Ushio dies there. Are you sure you want to do this story for the play?"

"The world ends, but the girl… Ushio doesn't die there," Nagisa said with a smile, "she and the little robot escape to a world of warmth and love."

"Robot?" Fuko, Tomoya, and Kotomi asked. Kotomi had taken many notes on everything Tomoya could remember about that cold place and not once had he ever said anything about a robot.

"All right, people." Koumura clapped his hands, "this sounds like a conversation for another time. I'm sure Kotomi-chan will enjoy having you all compare your thoughts on these memories when she is in a position to take notes. But for now, the important question is for Nagisa-chan. Do you remember enough of this story to make an interesting play and can you be ready by the School Festival?"

"I…" Nagisa withdrew a bit at the feeling of being put on the spot like this. Fears and doubts started to well up inside her as she looked at everyone looking back at her. At first she thought they doubted her too, until she heard soft words of support.

"You can do it, Nagisa." Kyou said it first. Then Ryou. Soon everyone was nodding and smiling their encouragement to her.

"I can't do it alone, sensei." Nagisa replied to Koumura, "But we can do it if we work together."

"Fair enough," Koumura was more than pleased with that answer and with the spirit he saw in this room. "I'd like to see how the play opens. You've done a good job describing the set. Can you give me the opening line?"

Nagisa stood up straight, offered her hand to the audience, and said, "If you wish, would you like me to take you? To a place in this city where wishes come true."

.

 **Saturday evening, June 7 – Ichinose residence**

* * *

Tomoya stood behind Kotomi and massaged her neck and back as she leaned heavily on the kitchen table. Kyou and Tomoyo were clearing off the table from dinner and Kobayashi Jun was wearing a bemused expression that would have got him in trouble if Kotomi had a personality like Kyou's.

"Karate?" Jun asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Kotomi answered without looking up, "I am trying to be as serious with it as I can, but it is harder than I thought. And, it has made me aware that I am not in very good shape."

Jun looked to Tomoya to refute her claim that she was not in good shape, but Tomoya had been there when it was revealed to Kotomi that there was a stark contrast between her endurance and everyone else's. She was exhausted, gasping for air and lying on the floor of the Karate Club's dojo before the other's had started sweating. There was no argument to be made against her self assessment. Her stamina was dismal and she was physically weak as well.

"So, you want to remodel the formal dining room into a dojo?" Jun asked.

"It never gets used as a formal dining room anyway," Kotomi asked, "why not?"

"It's just..." Jun said, "you have always been resistant to changing this house… " He stopped himself before saying, _since the loss of your parents_.

"I know," Kotomi had understood what he hadn't said, "but I think they would approve."

"Yes, I'm sure they would." Jun smiled as he thought about it, "When do you want this done?"

"If possible, I would like the work to be done during the first week of our summer vacation." Kotomi looked up as Tomoya's hands moved down to work on her lower back. "We will be gone the first week or two, so we shouldn't be getting in the worker's way."

This comment raised eyebrows with Tomoyo, Kyou, and Tomoya. They looked at each other and realized that none of them knew what Kotomi was talking about. None of them said anything at the moment, but they would bring it up with her later.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Jun said as he got up from the table, "I will have a contractor come by on Monday to look things over but I don't see why this couldn't be done fairly quickly. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be getting on a train soon, so I must be off. Thank you all for a wonderful dinner."

As everyone was bidding farewell, Tomoya caught a glance from Kobayashi-hakase and knew that he wanted another private conversation. Tomoya walked him out past the gate and down the road to the usual bridge.

"Kotomi looks happier than I have seen her since she was a little girl." Jun said as he leaned on the rail overlooking the gathering darkness under the bridge.

"I think you should know," Tomoya steeled himself, "she is insisting that I sleep with her in her room."

"Are you okay with that?" Jun asked Tomoya.

"Am _I_ okay with that?" Tomoya gasped at Kobayashi-hakase's unexpected question. Then he demanded, "Are _you_ okay with that?"

"With what I know of you, and what I know of her," Jun responded, "I am more concerned that her behavior may be too startling for you and she may inadvertently cause a rift in your relationship."

"So, even though we're sleeping in the same bed, you aren't concerned that I might take advantage of her?" Tomoya asked.

"No." Jun answered quickly and simply. "You're a good man. I believe in you. I have no doubt you will do the right thing."

Tomoya's eyes opened wide. Tomoya was thinking that Kobayashi-hakase must be unique in the world to have that much trust in him. Perhaps this was a ploy, surely he couldn't really believe...

"I am not the only one." Kobayashi-hakase smiled at Tomoya as if he had been reading his mind, "She believes in you too. Also, your counselor Koumura-san, The Furukawa's, and the Fujibayashi's to name a few others. All of them have faith in you, Tomoya-kun."

"But, I'm..." Tomoya was cut off.

"If you're going to say that you're a delinquent, just stop." Jun told him, "That is old news. Frankly, using it as an excuse dishonors Kotomi and the efforts she has made on your behalf."

"Forgive me, hakase." Tomoya bowed.

"Done," Jun nodded, "Just promise me you will never say it again. I knew the Ichinose's well and I can tell you that they would approve of you. Your father..."

Tomoya looked at Jun severely. His father was not a subject he ever liked to talk about. Normally he would end that conversation, but he couldn't challenge Kobayashi-hakase. Not even on a matter as personal as this.

"Your father believes that he is burned out, washed up, and useless." Jun said, "He has no hope left for himself."

Tomoya said nothing but looked back down over the side of the bridge into the darkness. Tomoya felt ashamed that he didn't defend his father from Jun's words but he couldn't. He had never expressed those feelings but yes, he believed the same thing about Okazaki Naoyuki.

"But he never thought of you as a delinquent." Jun told him, "Do you know why he told a school counselor that he had no interest in discussing your future plans?"

"No." Tomoya politely answered. He knew the real reason was that his father didn't care about him.

"He believes that he has made only bad decisions in his life. He has more faith in you than he does in himself." Jun told him, "Even though you are the child and he is the parent, he believes that you will do a much better job figuring out your life than he could."

"I… I didn't know that." Tomoya wondered about this as he looked into the gloom under the bridge. If it were true, it would cast a different light on his father's behavior… at least some of it.

"He has such hopes for you. We all do." Jun told him, "So if you think the bar is low and you can get by because the only adult in your life is your dad and he has a low opinion of you, think again. He does, in fact, have a very high opinion of you. You are going to need to live up to his expectations… and Kotomi's, and the Furukawa's, and the Fujibayashi's, and Koumura's… and mine." Most of the conversation had been easy and light, but the last two words had sounded quite firm.

"Yes, hakase!" Tomoya found himself bowing low to the esteemed gentleman for the second time this evening.

"Good night Tomoya-kun," Jun said as he walked away into the night, "You're doing great. Keep it up."

.

Tomoya was still in a bit of a daze when he got back to the Ichinose house. At first he didn't realize what was wrong until he noticed that Kyou was sitting alone on the sofa with her legs drawn up and her head down on her knees. She was wearing her pajamas but the other two girls were not around.

"Kyou?" he sat down beside her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm wrong." Kyou answered. She sighed and turned to Tomoya and told him, "Your girlfriend decided to try 'Tomoyo's Test for Kotomi's Hypothesis' tonight."

"Eh?" Tomoya was confused.

"Tonight, Tomoyo is going to hold Kotomi while she sleeps and you are going to hold me while I sleep… you remember this conversation, right?" Kyou asked with an edge of fear and bitterness in her voice.

"Um, yeah." Tomoya answered, "I had hoped Kotomi-chan had forgotten it though." Tomoya said.

"I'll bet you did." a hurt Kyou looked away.

"Kyou," Tomoya put his arms around the lavender haired girl and softly said, "I knew it made you uncomfortable so I had hoped she would drop it."

"Ah!" Kyou wanted to throw his arms off of her and move away from him but for some reason, her hands closed on his arms and held him there. "No… we can't do this… it's too dangerous… I'm too dangerous."

"Are you trying to tell me you are going to beat me up in your sleep?" Tomoya smirked.

"Baka." Kyou closed her eyes and told him, "I'm in love with you Tomoya. I've told you that. I've told Kotomi that. The more I'm around you, the more I love you. I love you more now than the day I confessed. I need to get away from you but Kotomi keeps pulling me in closer. So I love you more but I can't have you and it's tearing me apart." Kyou wasn't sobbing, but there were tears running down her face nonetheless.

"Kyou, I..." Tomoya didn't know what to say.

"She doesn't get it." Kyou moved so that she was facing Tomoya, "You don't get it either. I don't know how much longer I can keep myself from..."

"From what?" Tomoya asked.

"This!" Kyou grabbed Tomoya and kissed him with all of her pent up passion.

Tomoya's arms were already around Kyou. He started to move them to push her away but he just couldn't do that. He knew how much she needed this affirmation and, being honest with himself, he wanted to kiss her too. His arms closed around her tighter and he returned her kiss with his own passion.

Kyou's eyes sprang open when she realized that he was holding her and kissing her back instead of being repulsed and pushing her away. His eyes were closed as he kissed her. _Maybe he is pretending he is kissing Kotomi. He doesn't want me._ She started to push away but he pulled her in tight and held her head close to his.

"Kyou," Tomoya whispered into her ear, "There is something you should know. Kotomi knows. She said I was in denial about it and I should instead embrace it."

"What?" Kyou was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"I love you too." Tomoya confessed.

Kyou could hold back no longer. The tears became sobs as she held onto the man she loved.

.

It had been five minutes since Tomoyo and Kotomi had heard the door to Kyou's room close. Kotomi had been still the whole time but her breathing suggested to Tomoyo that she was still awake.

"Kotomi-chan, are you asleep?" Tomoyo whispered to the girl genius that was snuggled up to her. Tomoyo wondered if she was really as brilliant as she was supposed to be. Having her boyfriend sleep in the same bed with another girl… a girl that has already confessed that she likes him was just… insane?

"No." Kotomi replied, "I was worried for Kyou-chan until I heard the door. I think I'll be able to relax now."

Tomoyo couldn't imaging that they could be relaxing at all under the circumstances. Unbelievably, Kotomi did seem to be more relaxed now that she knew that her boyfriend and another girl were now alone in a bedroom with each other. Tomoyo couldn't figure out whether the reason for this was that Kotomi was uncaring, naive, or possibly perverted.

"Do you think they're asleep?" of course, Tomoyo meant Kyou and Tomoya in the next room.

"No," Kotomi yawned, "They're probably still kissing."

"Huh?" Tomoyo thought she must have misheard Kotomi.

"Kissing. With their mouth's." Kotomi explained to the confused Tomoyo.

"I don't understand..." Tomoyo was baffled by Kotomi's calm response to this.

"Would you like me to demonstrate?" Kotomi looked up at Tomoyo's face in the dark room.

"No!" Tomoyo said hurriedly, "I mean… I know what kissing is. I don't understand why you are okay with them kissing."

"They love each other." Kotomi explained as if to a child, "When people love each other, they can express that with kissing."

"But, Tomoya loves you." Tomoyo said, "He is engaged to you. You are supposed to be married soon."

"This is true." Kotomi didn't understand the confusion. Everything Tomoyo said so far was correct.

"But if he loves you, he shouldn't love someone else." Tomoyo urged.

"Why not?" Kotomi asked with all the innocence of someone new to this planet and unknowing of the customs and taboos.

"Because..." Tomoyo could only think of how both of her parents' extramarital affairs had caused turmoil in her own family. But was this the same thing? The number of differences between her father and Tomoya were staggering. There were also a staggering number of differences between her mother and Kotomi. In the end, she could only fall back on one thing, "Societal norms..."

"I have never understood those." Kotomi said.

"Eh?" Tomoyo gaped.

"Love is one of the strongest emotions a human can feel. When love is reciprocated, it creates a bond with beneficial effects to a persons health and psyche." Kotomi said, "Yet, a societal norm would tell us that the proper action to take would be to ignore such a strong emotional imperative, despite the potentially damaging psychological effects caused by such action."

"Oh," Tomoyo would have to think that over. She had never heard of love described so scientifically before.

"Good night, Tomoyo-chan." Kotomi sighed, "I can sleep peacefully now."

 _Yes Kotomi, you do make things interesting._ Tomoyo thought to herself as she too drifted off to sleep.

.

 **Sunday morning, June 8 – Ichinose residence**

* * *

Everyone was still wearing their pajama's as they sat around the kitchen table. Tomoya noticed that Kotomi and Kyou seemed to be smiling more than usual this morning. Tomoyo was drinking coffee and wearing her glasses as she read a book on the rules and regulations regarding the use of public lands.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi asked, "how was your sleep?"

"Wonderful!" Kyou gushed, "You are so lucky to sleep in Tomoya's arms every night."

Tomoyo looked up from her legal resource long enough to see Tomoya blushing. _Oh Tomoya, you'd better be careful with these two._ She said to herself.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi asked him next.

"Kyou squirms around more than you do, but I slept well." He would wait until he and Kotomi had some privacy before he told her about the kissing.

"Tomoyo-chan?" Kotomi asked the powder blond finally.

"I woke up a few times feeling uncomfortably warm." Tomoyo said, "Other than that, I slept well."

"Uncomfortably warm?" Kotomi pressed.

"You tend to generate a lot of heat when you sleep, Kotomi-chan." her boyfriend said. "I thought maybe all girls did that but I didn't have that problem with Kyou."

"You noticed it too?" Tomoyo asked Tomoya.

"Yes." Then he asked Tomoyo, "And Kyou didn't get hot like that for you either?"

"There was a sheet between us so I'm not sure." Tomoyo thought about it, "I'll sleep with Kyou tonight and find out."

"What?" Kyou squeaked.

"Excellent!" Kotomi cheered, "The trials should be as nearly identical as possible."

"But..." Kyou wanted to say that she thought this crazy test was all done now.

"Then, Tuesday night we will test the final iteration." Kotomi announced.

"Eh?" Tomoya, Kyou, and Tomoyo wondered what she meant by that.

"Obviously," Kotomi blinked, "Tomoya-kun with Tomoyo-chan, and Kyou-chan with me."

"What?" The three gasped but instantly realized that they should have seen that coming.

.

 **Monday lunch, June 9 – Classroom 3D**

* * *

"Sunohara-san, could you come with me please?" One of the four members of the Disciplinary Committee that was waiting outside Youhei's classroom asked as Youhei emerged from the room with Tomoya.

"What?" Youhei was about to protest that he hadn't been up to anything in quite a while. He also considered that he and Tomoya could take these four and make a break for it, when he heard Tomoya.

"Both of us, or just him?" Tomoya asked.

"Just Sunohara-san." the tall girl wearing the distinctive red and black shoulder cord said.

"Good luck explaining those pictures from the girls' locker room!" Tomoya called out as he left Youhei at a trot.

An aghast Youhei was about to reply to Tomoya when he felt himself suddenly pulled by his tie to stand nose to nose with the tall girl with the shoulder cord.

"Pictures?" she demanded.

"There are no pictures," Youhei denied, "I have a girlfriend now and there is no way I would have something like that."

"You could hide them from her." the girl challenged.

"Have you met Miyazawa Yukine?" Youhei replied confidently.

"Fair enough." the girl let go of his tie and told him, "We didn't come to get you because you're in trouble anyway."

"Oh?" Youhei was glad of that.

"Your presence is requested by the Student Council President." the girl said flatly.

"Tomoyo?" Youhei was curious. He didn't recall doing anything to upset Tomoyo recently but who could tell.

"Yes," the girl stiffened at Youhei calling the President by her first name so casually, "President Sakagami is waiting in the Student Council room."

.

Tomoyo looked up from the stack of papers she was reviewing when the door opened. She smiled when she saw Youhei and the four Disciplinary Committee members come into the room. Tomoyo was getting used to seeing the permanent scowl that the four Disciplinary Committee members always seemed to wear, but it looked out of place on Youhei's usually mirthful face.

"Youhei, thank you for coming…" she asked, "is something wrong?"

"Tomoyo, I know you're the Student Council President now," Youhei started to chew her out, "but you can't just send the Disciplinary Committee out to grab someone because you want to talk to them."

"What?" Tomoyo seemed confused for a moment, then winced as she replied, "I'm sorry Youhei. They were supposed to ask you to come. I need your help. You're not in any trouble."

"Oh?" Youhei was momentarily stunned. The great Tomoyo needed his help? For just a moment he thought of lording that over her but, then again, he didn't know what kind of help she needed from him. It could be something very unpleasant. Instead of taking the smart-ass path, he simply asked, "How can I help?"

"This might take some time. Does everyone have their lunch here?" Tomoyo asked.

"I don't. I was going to buy bread." Youhei said. The Disciplinary Committee members all had their lunches and, following Tomoyo's lead, sat down at the long table.

"I thought that might be the case." Tomoyo said as she pulled out another bento box, "I made you a lunch as well."

"Thank you." Youhei was thrilled. He knew how good Tomoyo's cooking was. Seeing the Student Council President give someone else's boyfriend a home made lunch did raise the eyebrows of the Disciplinary Committee members though.

"You'll have to tell me how I did with this." Tomoyo said as Youhei opened the box, "I used a few of Yukine's recipes."

"Oh?" Youhei wasn't a food critic or anything but he wondered why Tomoyo did that. She and Yukine had different styles. Both were good but having Tomoyo prepare food the way Yukine does would be like going to a yakisoba stand and asking for a hamburger.

"After speaking with Ryou, Kyou, and Yukine, I have heard some very positive things about you." Tomoyo's name dropping was intentional. She wanted the Disciplinary Committee members to know that this information came from someone who had everybody's praises, a Class Representative, and a student that the faculty entrusted with the keeping of the resource room. "Your grades are improved, you are getting to class on time, and you are participating in two clubs."

"Um… yeah." Youhei hadn't really thought about how much his life had turned around since the beginning of the year until then.

"It would appear that your days of being a delinquent are over." The words made it sound like a statement, but her tone of voice made it a comment that needed to be confirmed.

"Yeah… I guess so." Youhei thought about all the fun he had as a delinquent, but he also had to acknowledge that there had been a lot of time just being bored. That was one thing he could say was different about his life now, it certainly wasn't boring. Well, maybe a little boredom could be okay. It looked like things might finally start to slow down now. If nothing new came up…

"As you know, I consider hurtful rumors to be in the same category with threatening letters." Tomoyo let that sink in a moment before she said, "I also heard about how you handled that incident with the threatening letter to Nagisa." Tomoyo said. All four of the Disciplinary Committee members stopped eating and looked at Tomoyo. One of them started making a note.

"No no no," Youhei tried to explain, "that's all old news and it's not a problem any more."

"Indeed," Tomoyo sounded a little like Kotomi when she said that. Looking back at the Disciplinary Committee members, she told them, "The incident was properly and efficiently investigated by Youhei. The guilty party was brought before a Class Representative and a resolution was found that not only ended the threat, but rehabilitated the offender without anyone getting suspended."

All four of the Disciplinary Committee members were now looking at Youhei with renewed interest. It was clear that this former delinquent needed to be reappraised. Even though the attention on Youhei was to reconsider him in a more positive light, being scrutinized by this committee made Youhei nervous.

"You might be giving me more credit than I deserve there." Youhei admitted. He remembered that he had wanted to beat up the whole Choir Club at the time. Kyou hadn't felt much differently either. If it hadn't been for Nagisa and Ryou begging them to be compassionate, it could have ended up with both Kyou and himself suspended.

"I am not." Tomoyo stated, "After speaking with all parties involved, including the guilty party, it is clear to me that you have a talent at getting to the bottom of things."

"Um… thanks." Youhei wasn't used to this. He was being praised by Tomoyo, of all people, in front of Disciplinary Committee. Youhei got a feeling that Tomoyo was up to something. He was about to challenge her on it when she stated her intentions.

"I want you to join the Disciplinary Committee. They are good at responding to any current issue, but they could use your investigative skills."

"What?" Youhei and the Disciplinary Committee members all gasped.

There were lots of excuses and arguments given to Tomoyo as to why this was a bad idea from both Youhei and the Disciplinary Committee members. Throughout their protestations, it became clear that Tomoyo had prepared herself in advance for every possible objection. In the end, everyone had learned that Tomoyo did not engage in a highly divisive issue unless she was already pretty sure of her victory.

.

 **Monday afternoon, June 9 – Paranormal Mysteries Club room**

* * *

"What?" The second year club leader was livid, "What do you mean you are all quitting?"

"We want to join the Performance Club." the first year bookish girl said.

"I didn't know you could sing?" the angry club president said.

"I don't know if I can either…" the bookish girl squeaked as she hid behind the second year guy that rarely smiled.

"They don't just sing," the first year guy that usually smiled said, "they are putting on a play."

"I didn't know you could act!" said the increasingly irate club leader.

"It's not just that," the buxom first year girl with the long red hair said, "we keep looking for stuff and never find anything."

"Yeah, so?" the club leader glared.

"They have a witch." the red head said.

"And a ghost." the guy that usually smiles said.

"She's not really a ghost." the guy that rarely smiles said.

"An ikiryo," the bookish girl said.

"Jeeez, how gullible are you guys?" the club leader wailed, just because they claim..."

"We've seen them." the guy that rarely smiles said.

"You've seen…" the club leader looked in all their eyes and came to the conclusion that they weren't drugged or lying. "A witch and an ikiryo huh?"

"Yes." the guy that usually smiled answered.

"Fine, I quit this stupid club too. Where to I sign up for the Performance club?"

"Just one thing," the guy that rarely smiled told her, "Their club really, Really, REALLY doesn't like bullies."

"Who do they think they are that they can tell me..."

"They've got Fujibayashi Kyou and Sakagami Tomoyo in their club." The guy that usually smiles said.

"Oh." the club leader stopped her rant in her tracks.

"So, you'll need to be on your very best behavior." the red head said.

"What are you saying?" the former club leader pouted.

.

 **Tuesday night, June 10 – Ichinose residence**

* * *

Since it was always Kyou and Kotomi that were the ones getting cuddled, Kyou thought that there might be some awkwardness on the last night of Kotomi's hypothesis testing. There wasn't though, Kotomi nestled into Kyou in a way that reminded Kyou of how her sister used to cuddle up to her. Putting her arms around Kotomi felt natural and very relaxing. Kyou thought she could quickly sail off to sleep like this, but Kotomi's words zapped her fully awake.

"Do you think Tomoya-kun is a good kisser?" Kotomi asked.

"Eh?" Kyou was about to deny, dismiss, and lie… She took a deep breath. This was Kotomi, not any normal girl. Of course, Kyou was glad of that. No normal girl would have let her within ten meters of her boyfriend.

"Do you think Tomoya-kun is a good kisser?" Kotomi repeated the question a little louder. She had thought that Kyou's reaction was because she hadn't heard the question.

"Um, yes." Kyou was glad that the room was dark. It would be even more embarrassing if she was the only one blushing in this conversation.

"I do too," Kotomi admitted, "but I've never kissed anyone else so my assessment is highly speculative."

"I haven't kissed anyone else either." Kyou speculated, "I wonder if Tomoya-kun kissed anyone else besides us?"

"I was his first, so I would think not." Kotomi answered.

"Oh." Kyou felt a bit of jealousy when Kotomi said that she had been his first kiss. But she thought about it from another perspective and said, "He was our first kiss. We do have that in common."

"We have many things in common." Kotomi said happily, "We both love Tomoya-kun. We both feel complete when we are with him. We both want a future with him."

"Oh!" Kyou felt the metaphorical knife in her back. The tears came to Kyou's eyes as she was reminded of the depressing thought she tried to keep suppressed. The unhappy thought that sooner or later, probably when they had finished with college in America, this would all come to an end for Kyou. Tomoya and Kotomi would still be married but they wouldn't need her anymore. Kotomi was not usually cruel so Kyou wondered why she would say something so hurtful. Knowing Kotomi, she probably didn't even understand why it would hurt. Kotomi suddenly turned over and looked closely at Kyou's face in the dark room.

"Kyou-chan, why are you crying?" Kotomi asked.

"I… I try not to think of the day when I will have to leave you and Tomoya." Kyou said.

"What day is that?" Kotomi asked in some alarm.

"Huh?" Kyou tried to figure out Kotomi's question, "You know… when you no longer have any use for me."

"Oh Kyou-chan," Kotomi wrapped her arms around Kyou and hugged herself to the taller girl's chest. "I know I can be difficult to understand sometimes. I appreciate how you have put up with me until now. How much longer do you think you can put up with me?"

"You're not so difficult to put up with, Kotomi-chan." Kyou found herself comforting the girl that had a greater claim on the man she loved yet again. "I can put up with you as long as you can put up with me." Kyou felt Kotomi raise her head and found herself looking into glistening eyes in the darkness of the room.

"My plan, as well as Tomoya-kun's is to always put up with you." Kotomi told the startled girl she held in her arms, "We will never give up on you, Kyou-chan." Kotomi put her head back down on Kyou's chest and held her tight.

"But..." Kyou couldn't believe what she was hearing, "...but that means."

"Yes." Kotomi said as she held the trembling girl. They were still holding each other when they finally went to sleep.

.

The atmosphere started off quite a bit cooler in the other bedroom. Tomoya didn't know it, but he was closer to Tomoyo than any guy had ever been. But that didn't say much. Because of her father's bad example and the strained home environment that both he and Tomoyo's mother had created, she found it very difficult to trust any guy enough to let him get close to her. Sleeping in the same bed was, in her opinion, far too close. If it had been anyone other than Tomoya, she would have refused the request. But… she felt she owed it to both Tomoya and Kotomi to comply… within reason.

With both of them dressed from neck to ankles in conservative, if warm, long sleeved pajamas, Tomoyo faced Tomoya before they got into the bed they would share for the night. Tomoyo had picked these pajamas since they covered as much of the body as possible and were thick enough that the sense of touch would be useless through them. It was an obvious deterrent to any thoughts that they might do anything other than sleep tonight. She was surprised, and a little disappointed that Tomoya had picked the same outfit.

"Let me be clear about this," Tomoyo affirmed, "we are just going to sleep tonight. We are not going to cuddle, or even touch. There will be no funny business with me."

"Yes." Tomoya agreed. He was about to argue that if one of them didn't hold the other, they were not really doing the experiment… and if they weren't doing the experiment, what was the point of them both being in the same bed. Tomoya considered the situation and decided that she must be repulsed by the idea of being held by him but she didn't want to disappoint Kotomi. "Agreed."

"Okay then, I'm tired. Let's get to sleep." Tomoyo said and crawled into her side of the bed. She cringed as Tomoya turned off the light and crawled into his side of the bed. Her eyes were closed, but her body was tense like a coiled spring and she was ready to react as soon as he made his move. Seconds ticked by, then minutes went by and he didn't do anything. She was about to lose her patience when she heard the sound of his soft snoring. _What! He's asleep?_ Her eyes popped open and she turned to look at him in the darkness of the room.

His face was relaxed and he looked more peaceful than ever, but Tomoyo was in turmoil. _Why didn't he try anything? Am I not pretty enough to be wanted? Am I not good enough for him? Was he just too tired? Am I just-another-guy to him? Does he think I'm unattractive?_ _Maybe he's scared of me. Maybe he's just too tired. Maybe he just doesn't care._ But that didn't sound like the Tomoya that she had come to know.

 _Maybe he's just doing what I asked him to do. Maybe he's just keeping his word. He's just doing what he thinks I want._

 _This is what I wanted. It's exactly what I asked for so… it's what I want._ She was still looking at him in the darkness of the room and started wondering what it might be like. She had held Kotomi while she slept, and she had been the one to hold Kyou while she slept. Tomoyo wondered what it might be like to be held by someone while she slept. It would have to be someone I trust. Someone like… Tomoya.

.

Kotomi and Kyou stood in the open door and looked in on what was now known as Tomoyo's room. Two sets of heavy winter pajamas were lying on the floor where they had been discarded during the night. Neither of the purple haired girls could imagine trying to sleep at this time of year wearing something like that. On the bed, Tomoya and Tomoyo seemed to be wrapped up in each other so thoroughly, it looked like there was only one person under the sheet.

"Wow, I did not expect that." Kyou whispered to Kotomi. As physically intimidating as Tomoyo was, she had expected to see Tomoya being cuddled in Tomoyo's arms… not the other way around.

"Indeed," Kotomi agreed for much the same reasons, "let's go make breakfast."

"Sounds good." Kyou turned to leave and wondered why she wasn't enraged seeing Tomoya and Tomoyo cuddling like that. As they descended the stairs, Kyou asked, "Do you think they kissed?"

"No." Kotomi answered.

"Oh?" Kyou was surprised at how quickly Kotomi had answered that question, "Why not?"

"I do not believe Tomoyo has feelings for Tomoya the way we do, and I don't think he has feelings for her the way he does for us." Kotomi explained as they got into the kitchen.

Kyou took some comfort from Kotomi's analysis.

"Of course I could be wrong." Kotomi admitted, "As you know, my people skills are not very good."

Kyou was suddenly possessed with the urge to throw a pot full of cold water on the two still sleeping upstairs.

.

 **Friday afternoon, July 18 – High School courtyard**

* * *

The Performance club room looked vastly different than it did in it's days as the Drama Club room. All the boxes of drama club paraphernalia had been sorted and either discarded or properly stored. The boys and Tomoyo, had built a small stage in the front of the classroom to use for meetings and rehearsals that wouldn't require the use of the auditorium. Under Koumura's guidance, they had installed a smaller version of the control boards, lights, and microphones in the club room as well. Now they could also practice the lights and sound while they rehearsed on the small stage.

All of this activity, as well as the news that the merged Performance Club just annexed all the members of yet another club, did not go unnoticed by the rest of the school. Both the students and the staff were curious about this burst of activity from three clubs that, until recently, no-one had ever heard of, or were on the verge of being shut down. There had been some rumors that there may be something unscrupulous going on but those rumors were quickly quashed by a surprising list of their supporters.

The Karate Club members were among the loudest defenders. Whenever a member of that club heard someone spreading a rumor about the Performance Club, they would angrily demand to know who they heard the rumor from and what was the proof. At Student Council President Sakagami's request, the Karate Club didn't pursue any of these leads, but they did hand them over to the Disciplinary Committee. Since most of the Performance club was participating with the Karate Club now, there were more than a few people that suspected collusion.

The Basketball Team was an unexpected supporter. There were many that thought that they wouldn't mind seeing the Drama Club die out after that game that they played. Their team leadership wasn't as morally or ethically challenged as some of the other sports teams though. The contrast between the culture and attitude of the Basketball Team and the Soccer Team was never more evident than when the Disciplinary Committee had to step in between a clash of the two clubs. It seemed that the Soccer Team was upset because several of their talented, but junior members got fed up with their leaderships' antics and quit the team to join the more reliable Basketball Team. At Koumura's suggestion, Youhei did not participate in that intervention, but it still resulted in the suspension of four of the Soccer Team's senior members.

Almost all of the third years defended the Performance Club, or at least would not participate in any of the rumors. With Kotomi in class 3A, Nagisa in class 3B, Ryou, Tomoya, and Youhei in class 3D, and Kyou in class 3E, their club had representation in almost every third year class. Some of the third year students criticized the members of the club for spending so much time on a club activity when a third year needed to be paying more attention to their upcoming tests. Those concerns were largely dismissed when they found out that Kyou, Ryou, and Kotomi were leading study sessions for all the club members to make sure that no-one suffered academically for their club participation. Just how much those study sessions were useful became evident the day before the School Festival.

.

The boards with the test grades were posted all around the courtyard. Students were crowded around the boards looking for their matching number so they could find their score and their class standing. For the last two years, it had been an exercise that Tomoya and Youhei had not participated in. It wasn't because they knew they wouldn't do well. They knew they wouldn't do well since they almost never studied. The real reason was that they just didn't care. A lot of things were different now but the most important things were with them in the courtyard.

Kotomi held Tomoya's arm as they approached the boards. Being sensitive to Kotomi's discomfort in crowds, Tomoya simply stood in the back with Kotomi on his arm and waited for the crowds to die down. Not long after their arrival, Youhei arrived with similar arm decor. Yukine held onto Youhei's arm and smiled. Some people could see Fuko standing next to Yukine, but most still couldn't. Not having any scores on the boards, Fuko was there to give her support to her friends. Nagisa and Ryou also waited patiently, but they would not have as long to wait. Kyou came back from the boards with a smile on her face.

"Kyou-chan, Did you find ours?" Nagisa asked as she excitedly held Ryou's hand.

"Yes," Kyou beamed, "Nagisa is in the top fifteen percent," she said as she handed Nagisa a slip of paper with her exact score and position, "Ryou and I are in the top ten percent, and this time Ryou is ahead of me by six places." Everyone could tell from her voice that Kyou was very proud of her twin sister.

"Oh!" Ryou was shocked, "Onee-chan…"

"I'm so proud of you!" Kyou gushed over Ryou's worried expression, "but you're going to have to try even harder if you want to make it into Medical School!"

"Yes!" Ryou was wrapped up in her sister's excitement, "I will! I promise I'll do my best!"

"How did you do Yukine-chan?" Kyou asked.

"I am in the top fifteen percent for second years." Yukine answered happily.

"Congratulations to the four of you." Tomoyo's voice came from behind them.

"How did you do Tomoyo?" Tomoya asked. He noticed with a little laugh that Kyou moved to stand to his left as soon as Tomoyo made her presence known. There was no longer any animosity between those two but it seemed that at least Kyou believed there was a rivalry.

"I am… in the top ten percent." Tomoyo answered cautiously.

"Oh?" Kotomi said, "I would suspect that you are in the top one percent."

"I don't want to…" Tomoyo's discretion was blown by Youhei.

"She is in the number one position for all second years." Youhei announced.

"Youhei!" Tomoyo showed some surprise, "How did you know that? If you're abusing your position on the Disciplinary Committee…"

"I didn't know," Youhei laughed, "until you just confirmed it."

"I will remember this conversation in our next Karate Club meeting." Tomoyo said levelly and Youhei stopped laughing.

"Let's go see how the boys did." Kotomi suggested. There were still a number of students around the boards, but not nearly as many as before. As they got up to the boards, Tomoya noticed that most of the students still there were in his class. Their new Class Representative Suzuki was among them. Most of them turned to watch as Tomoya and Youhei walked up to the board that had the last group – the bottom twenty-five percent.

"Okazaki-san, Sunohara-san." Suzuki greeted them and asked, "We have been cheering you on. We have seen you studying with the Fujibayashi's and with Ichinose-san. We have made copies of our class notes because we know you are trying. You are all trying so hard. It is an inspiration. Thank you." He made a polite bow and was a little shocked when the rest of his classmates followed his lead and also gave the two former delinquents a bow.

"Thank you, Suzuki-san." Tomoya said, "Thanks to all of you. When I saw all the notes and assistance that you were willing to give us when we were helping Nagisa through her tough times… You inspired me." Tomoya bowed to his classmates.

A moment after Tomoya bowed, Youhei, Ryou, and Nagisa bowed as well. Youhei's inner voice was asking him, _When the hell did Okazaki get so eloquent? And when the hell did I learn how to use a word like 'eloquent'?_

"If you don't mind," Suzuki asked, "would you mind letting us know how you scored?"

The scores were posted by number for privacy, but it was up to the student if he wanted that privacy or not. In the cases of Okazaki and Sunohara, they didn't really care and handed over the slips of paper that had their identifying numbers on them. Suzuki handed the two slips of paper to two girls from their class and they began scanning the boards for the matching numbers. They both finished with the last board and didn't see the numbers. Tomoya and Youhei looked at each other in stunned silence as they watched the girls move up from the fourth board to the third board. Tomoya was about to tell them to look again when they left the third board and went to the second board, but one of the girls called out just when he was about to speak.

"Sunohara is in the fiftieth percentile." she announced and started writing his position and score on the paper for him. Tomoya looked at Sunohara and saw an expression of complete disbelief. When he looked back at the boards, he saw the girl with his slip of paper moving to the first board. Just as the first girl was handing a stunned Sunohara the slip of paper with his carefully written scores, the other girl made her announcement.

"Okazaki is in the top twenty-five percent." Tomoya felt his knees go weak as he was suddenly surrounded by back slapping, high fiving, congratulating and well wishing classmates.


	20. Chapter 20 - Just a Joke

**Sunday afternoon, July20 – Ichinose residence**

* * *

Kotomi's house was a cheerful place with many guests and once again, it was for a birthday party. Yukine and several other Performance Club members had come over that morning and the formal dining room was adorned with lots of starfish decorations. Okazaki had warned them that this was not a good idea and would make her go into her weird trance, but Yukine just smiled and said they would remove them if it turned out to be a problem.

"Good afternoon, I'm glad you both could make it. Tomoya welcomed Kouko and Yusuke into the house, but took them into the kitchenette and away from the activity in the dining room. Youhei had warned him that they were still having a hard time remembering Fuko's ikiryo and would need to be gently reminded.

"The note said you needed to discuss the stage wiring with Yusuke-san?" Kouko asked as she and her husband took the offered seats at the kitchen table.

"I am an electrician that works with power lines." Yusuke said, "You should know that sound wiring is different."

"We can talk about that later." Tomoya asked, "Water, green tea?"

"Green tea, please." Yusuke answered.

"Me too." Kouko added.

"Did you go to the hospital to see Fuko-chan this morning?" Tomoya asked as he poured the tea from a bottle.

"Yes," Kouko was surprised, "How did you know?"

"Today is her birthday. She should be seventeen now, right?" Tomoya smiled.

"Yes, that's right." Kouko half smiled. The fact that this young man was keeping track of her invalid sister's birthday was a little odd.

Yusuke thought it was more than odd. He had a suspicious feeling and wondered what this kid might be up to.

"How is she doing?" Tomoya asked innocently.

"Her vitals are fine, but they still can't say if or when she will be coming out of the coma." Kouko said.

"I have a feeling she will come out of it. I don't know when, but I think she will." Tomoya sounded encouraging.

"Thank you." the sentiment made Kouko feel better but only made Yusuke more suspicious.

"Youhei and Yukine-chan will be here soon." Tomoya said as he noticed the wary look on Yusuke's face. The trick worked like magic. As soon as Yukine heard that Youhei would be here, he was much more at ease. Tomoya had to laugh inside. Aside from Yukine, he couldn't think of anyone else that would feel better if they knew Youhei was going to be there. Well… maybe Fuko.

"Yukine would like you to do this little mental exercise before she gets here. Would that be okay with you?" Tomoya asked as he placed two sheets of paper face down on the table.

"Sure, I guess." Kouko was getting that feeling that she had done something like this before. It wasn't quite deja vu, but very similar.

"Take these," Tomoya slid the papers across to them and gave them their instructions, "read them to yourselves and see if you can figure out whose handwriting it is."

"This looks like my handwriting, but I don't remember writing this." Kouko was confused as she read the only two words on the page, _Remember Fuko_. For some reason, she felt like she was getting a headache just trying to figure this out.

Yusuke said nothing. He remembered Fuko and he remembered writing the words on this paper. It seemed to be like this every time that they came from seeing Fuko in the hospital. He would always remember Fuko before Kouko would, and it would always make Kouko sad. Now that he remembered Fuko, he remembered the previous times doing this exercise and he knew what Tomoya was going to say next. He winced and prepared to hold his wife while she cried… again.

"Now try saying the words out loud." Tomoya didn't smile this time. He couldn't look at her at all. Looking down at his own cup of tea, he gritted his teeth as he got ready to hear Kouko's outburst and pain.

"Remember Fuko." Kouko said the words and suddenly felt the headache replaced by guilt. "No..." her tears dropped onto the page she still held in her hands as her memories came flooding back. Her hands moved up to cover her eyes and she asked, "Will I ever be able to remember?"

"I've heard Yukine explain this about a dozen times now but I think the answer for you is, no." Tomoya said bluntly.

"What?" Kouko looked up as if she had been slapped and Yusuke looked angrily at Tomoya.

"I think you could remember Fuko-chan's ikiryo if you stopped visiting her body in the hospital, but you can't do that, can you?" Tomoya asked.

"No, I can't." Kouko said desperately.

"I don't think you should, either." Tomoya said, "I think Yukine has a wonderful plan. Fuko-chan's ikiryo will have lots of friends and will learn her high school courses since she will now be going to class with those friends. But, no-one can say if the real Fuko will remember any of this when she wakes up."

"That's true." Yusuke admitted but thought it was pretty callous of Tomoya to mention it.

"So, there is just as good a chance that the only things she will remember when she wakes up are your visits and you reading to her when you sit with her in her room." Tomoya said. He did not mention that there was an even better chance that she would remember nothing since the accident.

"I get it," Yusuke understood where Tomoya was going and told his despairing wife, "It is more difficult for you to remember Fu-chan's ikiryo, not because you don't love her enough, but because you are closer to her and love her more than anyone else."

"Do you really think that's it?" Kouko felt a weight lifted. All this time she thought badly of herself for not being able to remember her dear sister's ikiryo from one day to the next. She was doing better now, but still there were times…

"I'm sure of it." Tomoya smiled, "Just as I am sure that there is no-one in this world that Fuko-chan loves more than her onee-chan."

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun." Kouko said. Yusuke nodded his appreciation and decided to forgive Tomoya for being ungentle with his wife. His methods may be coarse, but he was satisfied with the results.

.

An hour later, Fuko was the happiest girl in the city. She had her friends, her sister, and she was wearing a party hat. Tomoya had been right though. They did have to remove all the starfish decorations from the room.

After the cake had been eaten and the songs had been sung, there were lively conversations in the Ichinose home. Many of the new members of the Performance Club wanted to discuss what they should do for the Cultural festival at the beginning of November. Nagisa's play had been such a hit, they were split between building on that success with another play or doing a haunted house. The haunted house proponents wanted to make use of Fuko's supernatural aspects. Unfortunately, she didn't really have any unusual abilities or powers other than being easily forgotten.

For many of the people at the party, this would be their last summer vacation as High School students. Plans were suggested to try to get together for a beach trip as well as the Obon festival. Several dates were being discussed and Kotomi was starting to look concerned. Sitting next to her as he was, Tomoya didn't notice the look of growing concern but Nagisa and Ryou were sitting across from Kotomi and could see that something was bothering her.

"Kotomi-chan," Nagisa asked, "is something wrong?"

"Well..." Kotomi suddenly had the attention of most of the people in the room and it made her nervous.

Tomoya felt Kotomi's unease and gave her hand a squeeze to let her know that he was there for her.

Kotomi took a deep breath to calm herself and looked around at everyone looking back. It was no good. Seeing them all looking at her like that made her lose her voice. She tried looking only at Nagisa-chan across from her. _Yes, this could work. I'll pretend that I'm just talking to Nagisa-chan._

Some of the newer members of the group were about to ask if something was wrong but Tomoya and Kyou waved them off and let them know to give Kotomi a little time to get her composure.

"I was getting concerned when I heard everyone making plans for the summer break." Kotomi said as she looked only at Nagisa-chan. "You see, I sent out the invitations yesterday so you should be getting them soon."

"Invitations?" Ryou asked.

"Yes," Kotomi found she could talk to Ryou-chan too since she was sitting next to Nagisa-chan and it still didn't feel so burdensome, "They are the invitations to our wedding on Sunday after the Obon festival."

"WHAT?" several voices cried out.

"There is more." Kyou told them, "Make sure you get your invitation and open it soon. There are instructions for each of you to go to a Yukata shop to be measured."

"All these pretty girls in Yukatas?" Even with Yukine holding his hand, Youhei couldn't help but comment, "Good idea, Kotomi-chan!"

"The guys will be in Yukatas too." Tomoya replied.

"Eh?" Youhei asked, "What happened to all that talk about Tuxedos?"

"We're about to spend four or more years in America, so Kotomi and I would like to have a traditional Japanese memory before we leave."Tomoya said.

The idea had really been Kotomi's wish. It had taken a lot of courage from her to bring it up to Tomoya and Kyou. She had been worried what they might think of her for wanting something like that, but they both seemed to think it was a good idea too. Kyou had commented that it was Kotomi's wedding, so she should have it however she likes. Kotomi smiled and Kyou thought it was in appreciation for her support, but Kotomi knew that the ceremony would have some significance for Kyou as well.

"Wouldn't a traditional Japanese wedding have formal Kimonos, instead of Yukatas?" Sugisaka asked.

"We considered that." Kyou said, "Those formal Kimono's are great for a cherry blossom wedding since it is still cold, or at least cool at that time of year. But this will be in August and we don't even know if the school's air conditioners will be on since classes won't be in session."

"Oof," Youhei imagined himself being melted under all the layers of a formal Kimono in the hot August sun, "good thinking."

Kotomi listened to all the happy chatter that followed. Everyone had wonderful plans and high hopes for their last high school summer vacation. She thought of her own plans and everything she had set in motion and realized that she was just like them after all. She had high hopes too.

.

 **Monday afternoon, July 21 – Train to Hokkaido**

* * *

Kotomi watched the scenery flashing by in the big windows as the train sped north. Looking at the reflection in the glass, she could see Tomoya-kun sitting next to her and Kyou-chan across from her next to… an empty seat. She had planned for all four of them to be on this trip, but Tomoyo-chan had declined. She would be spending the first week of her summer break with her family. This seemed odd to Kotomi since Tomoyo-chan didn't generally speak of her family and hadn't made any efforts to be with them since she had moved in to the Ichinose House.

Tomoyo-chan's absence bothered Kotomi in another way. Her intentions were good and her plans were well thought out, but something went wrong anyway. Kotomi prided herself on her logical mind so it bothered her that beliefs in something as base as luck or superstition would have any effect on her. And yet, it did. Thinking of how her plan had already met with one unexpected failure, she couldn't help but be concerned that everything else might fall apart too. She wondered how far the chaos would affect them. Was her marriage doomed? Would they even make it to the wedding day? How many things could go wrong… She felt her seat moving and was startled out of her thoughts for the moment.

Looking up, she saw Kyou-chan leaning over Tomoya-kun. Kyou-chan was pushing the button on his armrest to recline his seat. Kotomi was about to ask Kyou-chan what she was up to, but the lavender haired girl had a finger to her lips, then pointed to Tomoya-kun. He was asleep in his chair. He looked so peaceful and gentle when he was asleep. Kotomi hoped he had sweet dreams and nothing like the troubled thoughts that had been plaguing her. After Kyou-chan had reclined Tomoya-kun's chair as far as it would go, she pulled Kotomi up out of her seat and sat her down in the empty window seat next to her own.

"Hey," Kyou said as she sat down next to Kotomi with a hair brush in her hand, "you were looking kinda stressed out over there."

"You could tell?" Kotomi was always impressed with Tomoya-kun's and Kyou-chan's abilities to pick up on other people's feelings like this.

"Of course," Kyou said as she turned both of them to face the window and took the bauble hair ties out of Kotomi's hair.

"What are you doing?" Kotomi asked as she felt her hair being gathered up in Kyou-chan's hands.

"I'm going to brush your hair," Kyou said as she made her first brush stroke through Kotomi's long purple hair, "I used to do this with Ryou before she cut her hair so short. She used to say that it was very relaxing." Several minutes went by with Kyou brushing Kotomi's long hair.

Kotomi was uncomfortable at first, but this brought back memories of her mother from when she was a little girl. She would sit while her mother would lovingly brush her hair and put it up in the hair ties with the over-sized baubles. Kotomi closed her eyes and could feel the memories of that loving relationship with her mother rekindled in her heart. Although gone for over a decade, she felt so close now. ...But this wasn't her mother. It was Kyou-chan brushing her hair now. And yet, the feelings were still there. Underneath her closed eyelids, her eyes were wet as she recognized this feeling. Kotomi felt loved.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi asked quietly, "am I troublesome for you?"

"Eh?" Kyou had not expected that question, but she smirked as she thought of the perfect reply, "Aside from the fact that you are about to marry the only guy I ever loved, no. Not troublesome at all."

"So, if I were not around, you would marry Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi asked.

"Don't..." Kyou's smirk faded to a pained expression that Kotomi fortunately couldn't see,  
"don't say things like that. I don't want anything to happen to you. I want… I want the two of you to be happy."

"That is not what I want though." Kotomi said. She felt the brush stop in mid stroke. It was embarrassing to say it, but she knew that Kyou-chan was at a critical point in her life and she needed to know how Kotomi felt.

"What?" Kyou was stunned. She had sacrificed her own feelings for Kotomi and Tomoya's happiness and she had made herself accept it. But… what was Kotomi saying now? Was her sacrifice for nothing?

"I want… I need the three of us to be happy." Kotomi said. "I know that you love Tomoya-kun, and I know that he loves you too. And, you know that I am aware of these things, don't you?"

"Yes…" Kyou also felt embarrassed with this conversation. It was not something new. These thoughts were constantly on her mind, but she spent most of her energy trying to suppress them. Ignore them. Move on…

"What you may not know is how I feel about you, Kyou-chan." Kotomi said, "I need you too."

"Eh?" Kyou was stunned. What was Kotomi saying?

"Also… I love you. I know it is love, but I do not fully understand it yet." Kotomi admitted, "I never had a sibling, so I do not know whether these strong feelings for you are like the love one feels for a beloved sister or if it may turn out to be of a more romantic nature… or if it is something completely different."

Kyou felt that she should say something but was at a complete loss for words.

"Of this I am certain though: I need you." Kotomi bowed her head a little as she confessed what had been on her mind for quite some time, "In many respects, you affect me the same way Tomoya-kun does. I am more relaxed when you are near. I feel safe and confident. When I see you, I know that everything will be okay and my heart seems to beat a little stronger. Consequently, when you are gone, I feel colder. It is as if a part of me is missing."

"Oh… Kotomi-chan," Kyou put her arms around her purple haired friend and took her hands.

"You are a very important part of me already, Kyou-chan." Kotomi said as she squeezed the hands holding hers, "I would be so lost without you."

"Thank you, Kotomi-chan." Kyou hugged her friend from behind, "That really means a lot to me." Kyou knew that when she had a minute to really think about Kotomi's words, she would get embarrassed again about the sibling love or romantic love part, but right now she didn't care.

Right now she was walking on clouds as she felt a huge worry simply evaporate. Since Tomoyo-chan had told them that she wouldn't be joining them on this trip, Kyou had felt like she was unnecessary. She was the friend that was dragged along because they were worried about her. She would try to stay out of their way, but the truth was that she was the third person along on a couples trip. They only had her along because of kindness, sympathy, … pity.

Kyou knew that Tomoya loved her. He had confessed his love when they had kissed, during Kotomi's sleeping trials. At the time, it had made her feel delighted and fulfilled. Since that night, she hadn't kissed Tomoya again. She had made sure there was always someone else with them since then. She still loved him as deeply as before and yet, even knowing that Kotomi had no issue with it, she felt guilty for having any of his love.

She felt like she was betraying Kotomi's kindness. Oh sure, Kotomi was okay with the love between Tomoya and Kyou, but that was only because she was so socially inept that she didn't know it was wrong. Some day she would wake up and realize the implications of that love and Kyou would be asked to leave. It was inevitable. But now it wasn't.

 _Kotomi needs me? Kotomi loves me?_ Kyou was still running through all that she had just heard and how that would change every assumption that she had made about their relationship. If it were true, it would mean that Kotomi wasn't just being nice to Kyou out of kindness for someone that her boyfriend cared for. If… _Kotomi needs me. Kotomi loves me._ They weren't questions any more. Kotomi had spoken her mind and Kyou knew that she wasn't the kind of person to make confusing statements. When Kotomi said something, it was clear and concise in every way.

 _I love you._

 _I need you._

 _I would be so lost without you._

Kyou went back to brushing Kotomi's hair as those lines replayed in her mind. Kyou felt a contented and happy feeling envelope her as she brushed the long purple hair.

 _I would be so lost without you._

Even as she found herself humming in her overflowing well of happiness, she felt that something was amiss. There was something important that she needed to address.

 _I would be so lost without you._

Looking within herself wasn't helping. She was so happy now, even a blow to the head would be nothing to her. Kotomi had made her so happy with so few words, but they had been the right words. They had been the words that Kyou so desperately needed to hear.

 _I would be so lost without you._

Kyou almost stopped brushing the hair when it finally hit her. It had been a cry for help. Putting her other hand on Kotomi's shoulder, Kyou could feel her friend's tenseness and knew she was right. Kotomi had found the courage to confess her feelings but Kyou had so far made no appropriate response.

"Kotomi-chan?" Kyou steeled herself to now confront her own suppressed feelings.

"Yes, Kyou-chan?" Kotomi responded.

"I have been living in fear of the day that you would decide that you don't want me around any more." Kyou admitted.

"No..." Kotomi reached up to hold Kyou-chan's hand that was still on her shoulder.

"I understand that now." Kyou said as she felt Kotomi squeeze her hand, "I still don't know what my place is with you and Tomoya."

"What do you mean?" Kotomi asked.

"Soon, you will be husband and wife." Kyou said, "I don't know how I will fit in when that happens, but I promise I will try if you still want me to."

"You," Kotomi hopefully asked, "you won't leave me?"

"I promise not to leave you, if you promise not to ask me to go." Kyou challenged her.

"I promise!" Kotomi responded quickly, "I promise I will never ask you to go."

"Then I promise not to leave you." Kyou said calmly even though she felt her heart was about to burst.

"Thank you very much, Kyou-chan!" Kotomi squeezed Kyou-chan's hand again. Then she offered, "I can think of several titles for your place with us, if that is troubling you."

"Oh?" Kyou asked.

"Associate, friend, confidant, companion, or consort." Kotomi said, "I could come up with more if you don't like any of those."

"No no," Kyou chuckled, "I like all of those. I think the last one implies a marital relationship though." Kyou thought it humorous that Kotomi would make a mistake like that.

"You are correct." Kotomi said. "That is the one that would be my preference."

"Oh..." Once again, Kyou was stunned and could think of no other response.

.

 **Monday night, July 21 – Hot Springs hotel in Hokkaido**

* * *

Even though it was summer, at this elevation and latitude, it was quite cool at night. The three travelers had been too tired to take advantage of the baths when they arrived from the train station. They just wanted to collapse in their room. Tomoya had changed into his pajama's and was looking at the single large futon in the room with chagrin.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya started the exchange.

"Tomoya-kun?" she replied.

"Do we have another room?" he asked as Kyou came back into the room in her pajamas as well.

"No." Kotomi answered. From the tone of her voice, it was obvious that she was confused why he would be asking such a question.

"Oh, well..." Tomoya asked as he looked around the room, "where should I sleep, then?"

"In the middle." Kotomi stated, "that way, Kyou and I will have room to cuddle up to you from either side."

"Eh?" Tomoya and Kyou looked at each other in surprise, then looked away as they blushed. Tomoya thought for only a moment about arguing this with Kotomi, but he had been with her long enough to know what she would say. Instead, he turned to Kyou. He was about to ask her if she was okay with it, but realized that the direct question would put her on the spot. Instead, he simply crawled into the middle of the futon and, looking at Kyou, opened his left arm to her.

Kyou was thrilled and embarrassed in equal measure. Ever since Kotomi's sleep test, she had gone to bed cuddled up to a big pillow trying to recapture that feeling of being next to Tomoya, but it was a poor substitute. Some nights, her need for the feeling of him close to her as she slept was overwhelming. Unable to forget it had ever happened, Kyou had been telling herself that the memory of that night should be cherished, but she must accept that it would never happen again. She had finally begun to believe it… to accept it… and now… Kyou looked at Tomoya's outstretched hand welcoming her to lie down at his side. She looked at his face and saw no trace of scorn or pity, only compassion.

Looking over at Kotomi, Kyou knew what she should do. It had been so hard to accept her position on the outside, but she had managed it… mostly. And now, Kotomi was pulling her in again. Could she manage it again? Could she pull away from Tomoya again, after such intimacy? Every time it was harder. Every time she tore herself up more with the effort to deny that which she craved. At some point she would be a wreck and unable to do it again. And then what? _What will become of me then?_ Kyou knew it was a bleak future even as she took Tomoya's hand and knelt on the futon next to him. She knew the likelihood of regrets for what she was about to do was very high, but she couldn't help herself. Kotomi had arranged this and Tomoya was welcoming her to his side. Despite the heartache of separation that was certain to follow, she could not decline their offer now.

Kyou tried to keep her bittersweet feelings out of her expression as she lay down next to Tomoya. At first, she thought she would simply lay on her back beside him, but after their night together, Tomoya knew what she preferred. She had the chance to object as she felt his arm going underneath her head and around behind her. She could have said something when he rolled her into him and brought her head to rest on his chest. She could have… but she didn't. Breathing deeply, she could smell him and felt the powerful memory of that night returning is if it had just happened.

It was all so wonderful now, she didn't want to think about how difficult it was going to be to distance herself from this feeling once again. If it hadn't been for the damper of knowing the trials she would soon be going through, she imagined her spirit would be flying with the eagles. If only… Just then, Kotomi lay down on the other side of Tomoya and cuddled up to his right side. Her face on his chest too, she was only centimeters away from Kyou. Kyou was preparing to move away and yield Tomoya to his true girlfriend when Kotomi took her hand that had been resting on his chest and held it.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi smiled, "is this uncomfortable for you?"

"No," Kyou answered. She wanted to say more, but she was afraid to say anything that might break whatever spell that was allowing this fantastic moment to happen.

"I think," Kotomi yawned, "this may be my favorite way to go to sleep so far."

"Yeah," Kyou agreed cautiously, "I like it too."

"Good," Kotomi closed her tired eyes, "unless this is too troublesome for Tomoya-kun, I think we should sleep like this every night."

 _I think we should sleep like this every night._

 _… we should sleep like this every night._

Kotomi's eyes were closed and she was soon asleep, but Kyou was a different story. Her eyes were open wide and she was speechless. Kotomi's words played back in her mind for the hundredth time and Kyou still couldn't believe it. Could this be real? Could Kotomi really mean what Kyou thought… what Kyou hoped she meant?

… _we should sleep like this every night._

"Breathe Kyou," Tomoya's voice surprised Kyou and she gasped for air. Not until then had she realized she hadn't taken a breath since Kotomi's comment.

… _we should sleep like this every night._

"Tomoya… did she mean it?" Kyou asked quietly and hopefully.

"Yes." Tomoya caressed Kyou's back to reassure her.

"Oh Tomoya," Kyou sighed, "I don't know if I can take any more of Kotomi's surprises."

"That's not good." Tomoya said, "I've been with her a while now and one thing I can tell you is that there are always surprises with her."

"How many of them have been bad surprises?" Kyou asked.

"So far," Tomoya thought for a moment of counting Kotomi's insistence that he get up early for basketball and karate, but decided that Kyou wouldn't give him any sympathy there either, "So far, none."

"Well," Kyou finally closed her eyes, "that's encouraging."

.

The next morning, Tomoya woke up alone in the futon. Looking around he saw the girl's pajamas and a note on the floor. The note told him that they were already at the baths and that he should join them when he was awake. There was no time on the note so he didn't know how much earlier they had left. If he wasn't going to make them late for breakfast, he would need to get a move on.

A few minutes later, he walked into the shower area and came to a stop as he saw a naked Kyou seated on a shower stool and a naked Kotomi washing Kyou's hair in an avalanche of shampoo bubbles.

Kyou looked panicked and covered her chest.

Tomoya wondered how he had wondered into the womens wash area and turned around quickly.

Kotomi kept washing Kyou's hair.

"Tomoya!" Kyou cried out, "What are you doing in here?"

"I..." Tomoya was trying to decide whether to stay and answer her question or just beat a hasty retreat out of the room, when Kotomi spoke with a calm voice.

"He is probably here to get cleaned up and use the baths." Kotomi answered.

It was her calm reaction that gave Tomoya pause. Kotomi knew something. She expected him to be here. He wondered why she would be expecting him to show up here, in the women's side.

"But, why is he in the womens side?" Kyou thought of throwing something at Tomoya who still hadn't left yet.

"There is no women's side here." Kotomi said. "This place does not separate people based on gender."

"What?" Kyou gasped.

"Is there a problem, Kyou-chan?" Kotomi asked innocently, "I thought it would be more enjoyable if we were all together."

"Enjoyable?" Kyou's shocked voice was an octave higher than usual as she tried to come to grips with Kotomi's latest surprise. Unfortunately for the aghast lavender haired girl, it would not be Kotomi's last surprise of the day.

"Come here, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi said as she stood up and faced him, "Kyou-chan's back has been washed now so she can wash your back while you wash mine."

"Kotomi!" Kyou squealed, "What are you doing? Are you trying to act out some kind of fantasy here?"

"Fantasy?" Kotomi seemed genuinely confused. She couldn't understand the fantasy reference and innocently asked, "It is simply the most efficient arrangement. Kyou-chan, can you explain to me the fantasy reference?"

Tomoya could barely hold back a snicker as he listened to Kyou's flustered response.

"No no," Kyou stuttered, "my mistake." Turning from Kotomi she saw that Tomoya had his back to her and was seated on the shower stool in front of her now. Kotomi sat on the stool in front of Tomoya and leaned into his hands. Kyou noticed that Tomoya wasn't using a brush or a cloth while he washed Kotomi's back, but Kyou couldn't go that far… not yet. She picked up a scrub brush and started working the soap up to a lather on Tomoya's back.

"Oh Tomoya-kun," Kotomi sighed, "as always, your hands work magic on my back."

 _As always?_ … Kyou felt stabbed.

"I'm just washing you, Kotomi-chan." Tomoya blushed.

"I guess it's just the way you touch me." Kotomi pondered.

 _How can she say those things and not die from extreme blush?_ Kyou screamed inside her head as she gritted her teeth in frustration. _Fine, if Tomoya gets to touch you then I get to touch him!_ And with that, she discarded the brush and put her hands through the lather onto Tomoya's back. Kyou felt Tomoya sit up a little straighter on his shower stool as her hands made contact with his skin. For a moment, Kyou was afraid Tomoya would object and ask her to use the brush again, but he didn't. Cautiously, Kyou started rubbing his broad shoulders and strong back. Of course, the soap made him feel slick and smooth under the lather, but the firmness of his muscles was something she could feel too. Kyou felt her excitement build just from washing Tomoya's back and thought that this arrangement might be best for everyone. After all, if she felt Tomoya's strong hands on her back…

"Tonight we should switch," Kotomi said, "I shall wash your back, Tomoya-kun, and you will wash Kyou-chan."

"I… I thought this was just for efficiency?" Kyou blushed.

"Whether it is now or later, it is still efficient." Kotomi then asked, "And it occurs to me that it will be another common experience that we can compare."

"Kotomi-chan..." Tomoya groaned. He knew that she had no idea how embarrassing the things she was saying was. Since she was sitting with her back to both Tomoya and Kyou, she couldn't see either of them blushing.

"Oh!" Kotomi had come to know what that tone from Tomoya meant. She had said something wrong again. Standing suddenly and turning to face her two friends, she started apologizing, "I'm sorry if I offended you!"

"What?" Kyou didn't understand the sudden change in Kotomi's attitude but she did notice that Kotomi might be upset that she made some kind of faux pas, but she was not the least concerned that she was facing them in her nudity.

"I'm sorry," Kotomi said again as she turned to Tomoya-kun, "does suggesting that you wash Kyou-chan offend you? Do you not want to wash Kyou-chan?" Before he could even answer, she turned to Kyou, "Or perhaps my suggestion that Tomoya-kun should wash you was insulting?"

The way she was phrasing it conjured a scene in both Tomoya's and Kyou's minds of Tomoya washing a writhing Kyou all over – his bare hands touching her… everywhere. Both of them were now blushing furiously.

"Oh no!" Kotomi was almost in tears, "I can see you're blushing even more now. I've made it worse, haven't I? Please tell me what I said that was wrong and I'll never say it again!"

"No, Kotomi-chan." Tomoya put his hands on her shoulders and said, "You shouldn't worry about not being able to say things to either of us. But you do understand that some things are intimate, right? Things like kissing, and touching and bathing each other."

"Yes?" Kotomi replied.

"Then let's discuss intimate things only in intimate places or only at a whisper." Tomoya suggested. "When you discuss intimate things, you may not only embarrass the person you are talking to, but other people that overhear you can find it embarrassing as well."

"I embarrassed both of you didn't I?" Kotomi looked crushed, but Kyou knew that Tomoya was doing his best to help the socially awkward genius.

"I was embarrassed." Kyou replied, "but I didn't feel insulted and I'm not angry or anything, Kotomi-chan. I will get over being embarrassed and I'll be okay, so there's nothing to worry about."

"So, what I said was okay, but I just should have said it in a private place since it involved intimacy?" Kotomi asked Kyou to verify her understanding.

"Um..." Kyou wasn't sure that she would have been that much less embarrassed if they had been alone and locked in a dark bunker, but she decided that Kotomi should correct her social awkwardness one step at a time and agreed, "… yeah. In the bedroom would be okay, I guess."

.

The hot water felt good on Kyou's body. The place advertised that it was a natural hot spring and the water was full of beneficial minerals. As good as it felt, it probably was. If only it could relax her mind. She knew she shouldn't focus on it but it bothered her nonetheless. When Kotomi had asked if she was insulted, she had answered and said no. But Tomoya hadn't given an answer to Kotomi's questions.

 _… does suggesting that you wash Kyou-chan offend you?_

 _Do you not want to wash Kyou-chan?_

Kyou wondered if maybe it did offend him. Maybe the reason that they hadn't kissed since the night of the Kotomi sleep test was not because she had avoided him, but because he had no interest in her. Or worse, maybe he was repulsed by her. _No! That can't be right, if he is repulsed by me he would never be able to sleep with me next to him, would he? But why then? Why hasn't he even tried to kiss me?_

Kotomi could see Kyou brooding. She looked up at Tomoya-kun but he was relaxing in the hot spring water with his head back and his eyes closed. He did not see Kyou-chan's unhappiness but it was clear, even to Kotomi, that Kyou-chan was distraught. This is not how it was supposed to be. They were supposed to be able to relax here and feel more comfortable around each other. Once again, Kotomi worried that all of her plans could end in disaster.

.

After breakfast, the trio went back to their room to change before venturing out to explore the small, but picturesque town. When they got into the room, Tomoya decided it was time to confront both of them about their mood.

"All right you two," Tomoya demanded, "what's going on?" Kotomi looked down but Kyou got defensive.

"What do you mean?" Kyou asked with her arms folded in front of her.

"Both of you have been polite, but moody ever since the bath." Tomoya said.

"I haven't been moody!" Kyou spat.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi said meekly from behind Tomoya, "even I noticed it."

"Huh?" Kyou thought she had been doing an adequate job of hiding her feelings but if even Kotomi noticed…

"I have been worried all this time that you are still upset with me, Kyou-chan." Kotomi's eyes started to look wet, "I know that I can be difficult for you at times..."

"No no no no!" Kyou insisted, "It's nothing you said… Well, it's sort of something you said, but it wasn't anything mean. You just… it's because you made me think about something."

"I made you sad?" Kotomi's hands went to her face.

"You made me think, Kotomi-chan!" Kyou said, "You're a genius, it's what you do. Don't be ashamed of it. If I'm sad, it's just because I haven't worked out what is troubling me."

"Then, you should tell us what is troubling you." Kotomi said.

"Huh?" Kyou blushed as she thought about discussing her thoughts with these two, "Why?"

"Because that is what people do when they are close." Kotomi explained, "They can discuss their hopes and fears with each other. At least, that is what I have read. As you know, I have no siblings and I have not had friends until recently so I rely upon you to tell me if I have made an incorrect assumption about our relationship. Are we… are we not close, Kyou-chan?" By the time Kotomi finished talking, it was clear that she was already discussing what was making her sad.

Tomoya put a hand on Kotomi's back and gave her a push to take a step toward Kyou.

"We are close," Kyou took Kotomi's hands and smiled, "in some ways, I am closer to you than I have been to anyone… even Ryou."

"Then..." Kotomi was hopeful that they could now get to the bottom of what ever it was that was bothering Kyou now.

"But, I don't think I can discuss it… because it is embarrassing." Kyou said.

"You will get over being embarrassed," Kotomi paraphrased Kyou-chan's own words back to her, "so as long as you will not feel insulted or angry, it should be okay for you to discuss it."

"Eh?" at first Kyou wondered what kind of weird philosophy book Kotomi had read, but realized what she had just done when she saw the smirk on Tomoya's face.

"She got you there, Kyou." Tomoya pointed out, "Kotomi just quoted the great philosopher F. Kyou-chan."

"She didn't quote," Kyou retorted, "she paraphrased."

"Please, Kyou-chan," Kotomi urged, "it hurts me to see you sad."

"Fine..." For a moment, Kyou thought about lying. She might be able to fool Kotomi, but she probably wouldn't be able to fool Tomoya. And she wouldn't be able to fool either of them for long. Not if even Kotomi could tell that she was upset about something.

"It's me, isn't it?" Tomoya asked.

"Eh?" Kyou was surprised that he knew. She looked down and answered, "Yes."

"You know what is bothering Kyou-chan?" Kotomi asked Tomoya-kun.

"I think it's the same thing that is bothering me." Tomoya said, "Ever since that night we kissed, I have been… worried."

"Worried?" Kyou thought he was going to say that he had regrets and that he never should have kissed her.

"I never should have kissed Kyou." Tomoya said.

 _NO!_ Kyou's fears started to overwhelm her.

"Why not?" Kotomi asked innocently.

 _No, Kotomi! Don't ask that question._ Kyou wanted to shout.

"I made her uncomfortable." Tomoya said, "She hasn't come out and said it, but ever since then she has been more distant with me. I feel like I lost something and it is unbearable."

"Eh?" Kyou stared at Tomoya. What was he saying? She was about to deny that she had become distant but she had to reconsider. Since that kiss, she would not sit next to him unless Kotomi was also there. She wouldn't be alone with him in the same room if she could help it. She wouldn't kiss him again.

"If it was bothering you," Kotomi asked Tomoya-kun, "Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't want to trouble Kyou further, and…" Tomoya blushed, "I was worried that if I kissed her again it would make things worse between us."

"But a kiss is an expression of love." Kotomi asked, "Do you no longer love Kyou-chan?"

"What?" Kyou squeaked. _Kotomi, you can't just suddenly ask questions like that!_

"No, that's not what I'm saying." Tomoya sounded frustrated, "Of course I still love Kyou. I've wanted to kiss her every night when we go to bed. I want to kiss her in the mornings. Sometimes I feel like it's all I can do to stop myself from taking her in my arms and kissing her for no reason at all!"

"Eh?" Kyou gasped.

"So, you want the physical and emotional interaction with Kyou-chan to be the same as it is with me." Kotomi observed. Then she asked, "Are you afraid that Kyou-chan will be offended or repulsed if you were to take the same liberties with her that you do with me?"

"Um…" Tomoya was still trying to figure out how to answer that question when Kotomi turned her attention on the lavender haired girl still stunned by what Tomoya had said.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi asked, "do you find Tomoya-kun offensive or repulsive?"

"No!" Kyou said a little louder than she intended.

"Kyou-chan, do you believe that a kiss is and expression of love?" Kotomi asked.

"Yes." Kyou said more meekly.

"Kyou-chan, do you still love Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi asked.

"Yes." Kyou's blush deepened.

Tomoya had been in this situation before. He could feel Kotomi about to make her finishing move. She may not be able to discern peoples feeling well, but once those feelings had been presented, they were just facts. Kotomi could work with facts. She could determine, extrapolate, and conclude better than anyone. She was a genius after all.

"Kyou-chan, I understand that you might find it embarrassing, but would you find it repulsive, or objectionable if Tomoya-kun were to express his love for you by kissing you at night, or in the morning, or sometimes taking you in his arms and kissing you for no reason at all?" Kotomi saw that Kyou-chan was blushing very deeply now, but she was not concerned. The rules had been established. They were alone in their room. Privacy and intimacy were achieved, so it was okay to discuss embarrassing topics.

"Ah!" Kyou wanted to sink into the floor. Was it really okay to admit to this? True, she had already admitted that she still loved Tomoya, but was it really okay to admit that she would like to kiss Tomoya again? To be held in his arms and have him express his love to her in the passionate act of a kiss was a dream… a fantasy. Could she really confess this to Kotomi? Kotomi… the legitimate girlfriend of the man that she loves. Then again, Kotomi was also the girl that loved Kyou too and apparently did not even understand the concepts of selfishness or jealousy.

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi took Kyou-chan's hands and made eye contact. Inquisitive and compassionate purple eyes looked into vulnerable purple eyes.

"No." Kyou finally said, "I wouldn't be repulsed… or offended. I have been wanting to kiss Tomoya again too… but I was afraid."

"Are you still afraid?" Kotomi asked.

"No… not any more." Kyou pulled Kotomi into a hug and held the girl that should be the most offended by all of this. _Kotomi, you are truly a wonder._

"Then it seems that all that is left for you to do is to literally, kiss and make up." Kotomi smiled.

Checkmate.

.

 **Thursday noon, July 24 – The Field of Sunflowers**

* * *

A narrow but well maintained and tree shrouded, clay packed lane ran along the side a field of sunflowers. Tomoya was wearing a backpack that carried most of their picnic supplies. He held Kotomi's hand to his right, and Kyou's hand to his left. The girls had smaller picnic baskets in their unoccupied hands. They had been walking for some time in silence and just enjoying the fresh air and idyllic scenery of the fields of flowers that ran to the feet of the distant mountains. Pleasant smiles were on the faces of the girls, but Tomoya had a look of concentration, or confusion about him. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had been here before. When he got to a break in the foliage that would allow them to run into the field of flowers, he almost stopped. If he had been a child, he would have enjoyed romping in such a fantastic looking place. But there was something ahead. Something about this place…

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi started.

"Kotomi-chan." Kyou replied.

"Do you paint?" Kotomi asked.

"Not really," Kyou laughed, "unless you count finger painting. Why?"

"There is supposed to be a very picturesque lighthouse up ahead." Kotomi answered.

"Oh?" Kyou asked, "Are you going to try to paint it?"

"I didn't bring any of that along, but I thought I might take some pictures of it and try to paint it later." Kotomi said thoughtfully.

"That sounds like a great idea," Kyou smiled. She immediately vowed to encourage Kotomi's painting hobby at every opportunity. Kyou decided that anything capable of taking her away from the violin was a worthy endeavor.

Tomoya heard the chatter between Kyou and Kotomi but he wasn't paying attention. He still couldn't shake that feeling that this was a place that he had been to before. Ever since they had passed the opening to the field of sunflowers, the feeling had grown stronger. It grew stronger still as they came to a bend in the road where vehicles would have to turn left but pedestrians could continue up some earthen stairs that ran along a rustic wooden fence. The three of them started climbing the stairs and Tomoya's feeling of forgotten memories grew stronger.

Kotomi and Kyou stole a glance at each other after they had started climbing the stairs. They had both felt Tomoya's grip tighten on their hands and knew that he was sensing that there was something special about this place. Kyou had smiled at Kotomi in case Tomoya noticed the little exchange, but she was worried. Knowing how sensitive he was about the topic that this place would bring up, Kyou was worried that this might upset Tomoya. Kotomi had discussed it with her extensively and had even shown her the notes she had made from Tomoya's recollections of the first time he had visited the dream place of ice and snow. In the end, Kyou had agreed to this plan because of how much it seemed to mean to Kotomi. Well… if Kotomi's plan worked, there was certainly something good that would come of it. What bothered Kyou were all the things that could still go wrong. After Kotomi's crisis of faith the other day, Kyou wondered how the purple haired girl genius was able to find the courage to continue on with this plan.

Kotomi was near panic. Every step they took got them closer to what could end up being a reunion, a non-event, or at worst – an angry showdown. She tried to get a feel for what Tomoya-kun was thinking as he silently walked between herself and Kyou-chan, but it seemed that he was deep in thought. She started running through the variables and it didn't look good. If Tomoya-kun didn't recognize Shino-san, or didn't care for what she had to say. If Shino-san despised Tomoya-kun for how he had been treating his father. Her mind ran through a dozen more possibilities that could turn all of her efforts into a fiasco. Kotomi took a deep breath and tried to cheer herself up. She took comfort in the confident smile that Kyou-chan had given her and relief in the way the day's weather had turned out. It couldn't be a more perfect day, so she could at least forget about all the disaster inducing variables related to natural events.

When they got to the top of the steps, the path opened up into a small observation park. A simple wooden fence enclosed an area at the top of a cliff that overlooked the nearby ocean, and the rocky shoreline below. As they entered the park, there was a short path that led to the picturesque lighthouse. The few stone benches that were in the observation park were unoccupied, except for one. An older lady with graying hair pulled back into a low bun was sitting at one of the far benches watching the sparkling reflections from the mid day sun over the distant ocean water.

Kotomi and Kyou kept Tomoya walking until they got to a backless bench not far from where the old lady was seated. Although they hadn't said a word, the lady turned and smiled as they approached. Kotomi and Kyou set their baskets down on the backless bench that would serve as their picnic table. Tomoya felt that another suppressed memory was just out of reach and couldn't keep from looking at the lady as she slowly got up from her bench. He almost didn't notice that Kyou and Kotomi were quietly removing the backpack from his shoulders and had begun setting out their picnic on the low bench. He did notice the old lady was looking directly at him as she approached. Her eyes looked like his eyes; they were the same shape and the same blue that he had seen in the mirror all his life. And… the same as his father's eyes. She was smiling when she came to a stop a few meters in front of him.

"You're Okazaki Tomoya-san, right?" she asked.

"Ah… yes. You know me? Tomoya asked.

"Yes. I know of you." she smiled at him again, "My name is Okazaki Shino."

"Okazaki?" Tomoya was stunned.

"I'm your father's, Okazaki Naoyuki's, mother." Shino explained to her grandson.

.

Kotomi and Kyou busied themselves with the picnic baskets and setting up the lunch they had prepared while Tomoya talked to Shino. At Kyou's suggestion, they quietly set up and packed away, and set up again to appear busy while Tomoya became reintroduced to his grandmother. They had considered the option of going off together to the lighthouse to find a bathroom, but the need to be there in case things went badly made them come up with this plan. Well, that was the excuse they both told themselves. In truth, they both wanted to hear every word of this exchange.

As they listened to Shino's story, they understood a lot more about Tomoya and were saddened at the difficult times his father had faced, and the rift that had grown between father and son.

At several points in the conversation, Kotomi felt like she didn't understand a nuance of what had been said. Whenever this happened, she would look to Kyou-chan with concern, but always Kyou-chan had a smile and a brief nod to let Kotomi know that everything was okay.

Kotomi started counting through the hurdles that would have to be cleared for this to work and how many were accomplished and what still needed to be done.

Getting Tomoya-kun here. They had accomplished that.

Recognition between grandson and grandmother. This too was done.

Acceptance of each other. Even this appeared to be going well.

All that was left was understanding, repentance, and forgiveness. These were, by far, the most difficult hurdles and they were hurdles that Tomoya-kun would have to face alone. Kotomi believed in Tomoya-kun because he was smart and compassionate – she had high, but not unfounded, hope that he could do this. And if he did… when he did, he would have his father back. Kotomi froze as she was setting out the sandwiches and started trembling.

 _...he would have his father back._

Kyou was listening to the conversation and packing up the items on her side of the picnic spread when she noticed that Kotomi had stopped moving. Looking over at her purple haired friend, she saw Kotomi's wide unfocused eyes, and the tears slowly running down her cheeks. Without making any sudden movements to draw attention, Kyou finished with what she had in her hands and walked around the bench to Kotomi. Kneeling behind her, she wrapped the trembling girl in her arms and brought her lips to Kotomi's ear.

"I'm right here." Kyou said softly, "I've got you." Almost instantly, Kyou could feel the tension in Kotomi relax.

Kotomi dropped what she had in her hands and turned to her Kyou-chan. She couldn't hold it in any more. Burying her face in Kyou-chan's chest, Kotomi started sobbing as quietly as she could. She could feel Kyou-chan's arms around her holding her tight. With Kyou-chan's hand caressing her back and her reassuring words in her ear, Kotomi felt safe and free to reveal this anguished part of herself.

"It's okay, cry it all out." Kyou spoke softly underneath the protective shell of her own lavender hair that covered her and Kotomi as they knelt next to the bench. She had done this before for her sister on several occasions and knew what to say. It was no mystery to Kyou why Kotomi was crying, she had seen these pent up emotions before when Kotomi had been going over the plan and explaining why it was so important to her.

"Is something wrong?" Kyou heard Tomoya ask. Both Tomoya and Shino were looking at the two girls with concern.

"Oh," Kyou said, "we didn't want to interrupt." Since she had started comforting Kotomi, Kyou hadn't been paying attention to what was happening between Tomoya and his grandmother.

"What?" Tomoya was on the verge of anger from Kyou's reply. Surely they could bother Tomoya if Kotomi was so distraught that she was crying.

"Tomoya… kun." Kyou said tersely. She could tell that Tomoya was getting upset so she put it to him as bluntly as she could, "I don't know how far your conversation with Obasan has gone, but you have an opportunity here. An opportunity to understand your father, to forgive him, and to get him back."

"I don't..." Tomoya started to say.

"An opportunity that Kotomi-chan will never have!"Kyou yelled at him. Kotomi held tighter to Kyou in the silence that followed.

Tomoya was at a loss for words. Of course, this would be painful for Kotomi! He realized how the thought of reconnecting with his father might have weighed heavily on Kotomi the whole time she had been setting this up. The memories that Shino had stirred up of his own childhood with his father had blended with the memories of hearing what had happened to Kotomi's parents, and of that day when Kotomi had collapsed on the sidewalk near the bus wreck.

 _Tomoya, so help me_ , Kyou thought to herself, _if you blow this opportunity that Kotomi set up for you… I swear I will beat you into the ground!_ She tried not to glare or look menacing, but she had never been very good at hiding her anger.

Tomoya had been looking at Kotomi underneath all of Kyou's lavender hair, but he looked up at Kyou's upturned face and took a step back. To Tomoya it looked like Kyou was protecting someone he had just hurt and was getting ready to kill him for revenge.

"Tomoya-san," Shino asked, "is this you fiancé?"

"The one that is glaring at me like she is about to kill me is our best friend, Fujibayashi Kyou." Tomoya said, "The one that she is protecting from your ungrateful, selfish grandson, is my fiancé, Ichinose Kotomi."

"Kyou-chan," Shino offered, "why don't you and Kotomi-chan take a walk down to the washroom at the lighthouse to freshen up? Tomoya-san and I can finish setting up this lovely picnic."

"Thank you, Obasan." Kyou stood and pulled Kotomi up. Kotomi's tear stained face was still hidden in Kyou's shoulder as they got up and walked away.

"They are good friends." Shino commented as she and Tomoya watched Kotomi and Kyou walking away arms around each other as they walked toward the lighthouse. "I did tell you that Atsuko-san and Naoyuki were still High School students when they were married too."

"Yes," Tomoya answered. "You shouldn't be concerned about that, though,"

"Oh?" Shino asked.

"Our situation is different." Tomoya explained, "If it wasn't for Kotomi, I definitely wouldn't be going abroad to college and I might not even finish high school."

"Oh my," Shino was impressed. She was also relieved that she wouldn't be seeing the son repeating the same disastrous life as the father. "Well, that certainly does put my mind at ease."

.

"Do you feel better now?" Kyou asked Kotomi as she stepped into the sunlight from the entrance to the women's restroom.

"Yes, Kyou-chan." Kotomi responded. As they started back up the path to the observation area, Kotomi asked, "How did you know?"

"What?" Kyou asked.

"How did you know what it was that was bothering me?" Kotomi specified.

"It wasn't too difficult to figure out." Kyou told her, "I already knew that you were bothered by…" _the loss of your parents_ "your own loss, and you have been tense ever since you told me about this plan of yours."

"I could never have figured that out." Kotomi looked down as she walked, "I wish I had your ability to interact and communicate with people."

 _And I wish I had your boyfriend!_ Kyou said to herself. Then she hit herself in the hip and chastised herself for such selfish thoughts. If things had been reversed and Kyou had won Tomoya and it was Kotomi that was in need… Kyou didn't want to think of what kind of person she would be in that situation. Surely she wouldn't have handled it with as much compassion and grace as Kotomi did. Thinking of what kind of person she might have turned out to be started to depress her. Instead, Kyou put her arm around her purple haired friend and laughingly said, "Let's get back up there and see if Obasan was able to talk some sense into that block-headed boyfriend of yours, or…if I should throw him off the cliff."

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi cried out in alarm, "please don't throw Tomoya-kun off the cliff!"

"That was a joke!" Kyou tried to calm her panicking friend, "I was just kidding."

"Oh..." Kotomi fretted as they walked along and finally said, "He wouldn't survive a fall from that height."

"JOKE Kotomi!" Kyou shouted, "It was just a joke!"


	21. Chapter 21 - Kotomi's Greatest Fear

**Saturday morning, July 26 – Sapporo**

* * *

Kyou was still sleepy as she rode the elevator down to the hotel lobby. She had slept well but it wasn't enough to shake off the boredom from the previous day. After two days at the hot springs, the next day had been difficult with all the tension and suspense that she and Kotomi had been under from setting up the reunion between Tomoya and his grandmother… well, that was two days ago. The day following that reunion, yesterday, had been boredom incarnate. Kyou looked across the elevator at the gleeful Kotomi and groaned internally. At least Kotomi had a good time.

Kotomi had been invited to participate in a conference on the mathematics and physics behind the concepts of parallel universes. It was the subject of her parents research and something that Kotomi had been studying since her childhood. When she was introduced at the conference, it seemed that it was out of politeness for her parents past contributions to the underlying theories in this field. However, after she joined some of the discussions and fielded some of the questions, many of the scientists and researchers present regarded her as a peer, or at least a very promising student.

Kobayashi Jun had been at the conference and was pleased to see Kotomi attend. He was even more pleased to see her flanked by Tomoya and Kyou. They didn't participate in the scientific conversations, but they were there to support her and make her feel safe if the crowds became too much for her. Kotomi's good mood and bouncing excitement lasted until the elevator doors opened at the lobby and she saw Kobayashi Jun standing there waiting for her. Tomoya had seen Kobayashi-hakase over at the Ichinose house several times now and didn't understand Kotomi's sudden reluctance to meet him.

"Kotomi-chan?" Jun was also familiar with Kotomi's way of starting a conversation.

"Ojisan," Kotomi replied.

"I am so very proud of you." Jun smiled, "You have accomplished so much already on this trip. There is just one more test."

Kyou didn't know anything about another test. She looked at Kotomi for an answer but could see that the poor girl was on the edge of panic again. Glancing at Tomoya, she could tell that this was a surprise to him too.

"I know." Kotomi looked down and tried not to start hyperventilating from fear as she acknowledged Ojisan's comment.

"I don't understand..." Kyou said as she protectively put her arms around Kotomi.

"What's going on hakase?" Tomoya asked Jun. "I thought we were just taking the train home now."

"You haven't told them?" Jun asked Kotomi but he could see that she was in no shape to talk. "You are not going to the train station from here." Jun told Kyou and Tomoya, "You are going to the airport."

"No…" Kyou knew of Kotomi's fear and that she had not been on an airplane since her parents' tragic flight. Just being near the airport was a very bad idea.

"Why?" Tomoya was ready to accuse Jun of being too rough with Kotomi when he heard Kotomi's trembling voice.

"It's… it's my idea." Kotomi said as she held onto Kyou's arms encircling her. "I need to conquer this fear now, so I will be able to make the flight to America this winter."

"Kotomi..." Tomoya wanted to tell her that she didn't have to push herself but what she said was true. The flight that she would be stepping onto at the end of the year would be a much longer flight than a simple hop from Sapporo to Tokyo.

"I have all the tickets here." Jun held out a large envelope but Kotomi was frozen and couldn't reach for them. "Are you sure you are still up to this?"

"No," Kotomi looked up at Jun and said, "but I think I can do it if Tomoya-kun and Kyou-chan are with me."

"I see." Jun laughed. Kotomi was gripping Kyou's arms that were still wrapped around her, so he handed the envelope to Tomoya instead.

Tomoya and Kyou thought it incredulous that he would be laughing when Kotomi was on the verge of panic like this.

"Ichinose Kotomi," Jun said with a confident smile, "with Kyou-chan and Tomoya-kun by your side, I believe you can do anything."

"Thank you, Ojisan." Kotomi felt the truth in those words and stopped shaking.

"Okazaki-san, Fujibayashi-san," Kobayashi Jun said as he bowed, "please continue to take care of my god-daughter."

"Yes, hakase!" both Kyou and Tomoya replied.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Jun smiled, "I have a flight to Tokyo to catch."

"Why don't we ride with you then?" Tomoya suggested.

"Because, your flight isn't for a few hours and… you're not going to Tokyo." Jun winked as he picked up his bag and headed off.

"Eh?" all three of the teenagers gaped. Tomoya opened the envelope and found a card inside. The card read, 'Call this an early graduation gift to the three of you. - Kobayashi Jun' Tomoya's eyes opened wide as he looked through the other items in the envelope.

"What is it?" Kyou asked, still holding Kotomi.

"Kobayashi-hakase just gave us an early graduation present." Tomoya held up the first set of airline tickets, "It looks like we are going to Okinawa."

.

 **Sunday morning, August 3 – Leaving Okinawa**

* * *

The week in Okinawa had been fun and relaxing. Aside from frolicking in the warm Okinawan ocean water at the beach in front of the hotel, there had been many other things to do. Together, they had explored and visited the ancient castles and shrines on the island. They had also tried scuba diving on one of the island's reefs. Only Kyou had been able to stay up on a surf board and was also the best at zooming around in the water on the small motorcycle sized personal watercraft. She had, however been terrified of falling from the zip-line, so her bragging rights were limited. The deep water fishing expedition had been fun. Kotomi had an unconquerable fear of being yanked overboard by a monster fish catching her line, so she preferred to cheer as Kyou and Tomoya pulled in several good catches.

On their last day in Okinawa, they decided to take it easy. Taking advantage of the hotel's amenities, they luxuriated in the spa. The three of them enjoyed getting manicures, pedicures, massages, and soaking in the steamy baths. In the evening, they reclined on lounge chairs and watched as the hot tropical sun sank into the distant ocean.

As relaxed as they were, it was not enough to keep Kotomi from getting tense as they got on the flight for home. Still, she was not nearly as stressed as she had been on the flight from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Just as she had on that previous flight, Kotomi sat between her friends and desperately held onto their hands. When they all got off the plane in Tokyo, Tomoya and Kyou still had to wring their hands to get the feeling back in them, but at least their fingers didn't feel broken this time.

.

Kotomi leaned into Kyou on a bench at the train platform where they would get on the last train that would get them home. Tomoya fished his cell phone out and texted Tomoyo to let her know that they would be home soon. His cell phone bleeped as he was walking back to join the girls on the bench. He smiled as he read the message.

"Good news?" Kyou asked. She was looking up at him as he had approached the bench and had read his happy expression.

"Yeah," Tomoya had planned on sitting next to Kotomi and letting her keep on leaning on Kyou, but looking up from his phone he saw that the two girls had moved apart so he could sit between them. He wondered what kind of reaction he might get from them if he walked around the bench and just stood there instead of taking the obvious seat. Then again, he was pretty tired too.

Kyou was curious but waited until he was sitting down and she and Kotomi were leaning on him. Kotomi was snoozing as soon as her head rested against Tomoya's shoulder. Tomoya glanced over to check on her and Kyou used the distraction to casually reach over and touch the screen on his phone. The screen lit up and she looked at the last message.

"Hey!" Tomoya instinctively jerked the phone away from Kyou.

"Oh?" Kyou smirked as she looked up at him, "You've got something on there you don't want me to see?"

"… maybe?" Tomoya smirked back.

"Huh?" Kyou didn't expect that response.

"Maybe I'm setting up your surprise birthday party."

"Baka!" Kyou laughed, "You don't even know when my birthday is."

"September nine." Tomoya smiled.

"Eh?" Kyou was shocked, "How did you know that?"

"Folder." Tomoya stated simply.

"Folder?" Kyou asked. In the middle of her confusion, she remembered. The blood drained from her face as she remembered the folder that Kobayashi-hakase had compiled on her. With the information in that folder, Tomoya would know her birthday… and a whole lot more about her.

"Um…" Tomoya was going to say more but he could see that Kyou was not looking playful any more.

"That's not fair, Tomoya." Kyou didn't look like she was going to hit him. She actually looked… disappointed.

"I never said..." Tomoya was cut off by Kyou's anger.

"If you're going to say you don't have to play fair because you're a delinquent, you are going to really piss me off." Kyou warned him.

"No." Tomoya could see that the warning that he got from Kobayashi-hakase during their last conversation on the bridge had been right for more than just Kotomi. Apparently, Kyou liked Tomoya's playful spirit, but she didn't care for the ethically corrupt attitude that went with his previous lifestyle. Honestly, he didn't either. Even back in his and Youhei's delinquent heyday, he had often felt guilty about some of the pranks that hurt peoples feelings. Many times, he started feeling that guilt even before the prank was complete.

"No?" Kyou challenged him, "No, what?"

"I didn't go through your folder trying to be mean." Tomoya sounded apologetic, "I was filling out the forms for the passport and student visas for all three of us the other day."

"Oh," Kyou looked away, "You… you took care of that for me?"

"Yeah," Tomoya laughed, "the paperwork was hard to figure out but once I did it for myself, I thought I could do yours and Kotomi's pretty quickly instead of each of you having to go through all those crazy instructions too."

"So," Kyou asked, "my birthday really stuck in your mind?"

"Yeah, it was important." Tomoya said.

"Huh?" Kyou blushed that he would say it.

"Yeah," Tomoya explained, "if you're not eighteen yet, you have to get several more pages of forms filled out and signed by legal guardians and government officials. So I made a note to Kobayashi-hakase not to process yours until after the ninth of September."

 _Tomoya, you idiot!_ _That is NOT what I wanted to hear._

"Oh." Kyou was still turned away from Tomoya so he didn't see her blush when she thought he was saying that her birthday was important to him. Now he couldn't see her complete disappointment at learning the reason was because of paperwork. She was about to move away from him on the bench when she realized that she didn't know when his birthday was.

"Tomoya-kun," Kyou turned back to him and asked as sweetly as she could, "will you tell me when your birthday is?" She was ready to argue with him about the unfairness that he knows her birthday so she should know his… when he just blurted it out.

"Sure," Tomoya said as he looked at the time on his cell phone, "October thirtieth."

"Octo…" Kyou blinked several times as it hit her, "I'm older than you?"

"Yeah." Tomoya looked back at Kyou from his phone, "You and Kotomi are both older than me. What's the problem?"

"I just thought… um…" Kyou knew it was a childish thought, but all her life she had dreamed that her perfect guy would be taller than her and older than her. He shouldn't be a lot older than her. A little bit would be fine, but younger? Tomoya had the taller part down but… could she accept being older than him?

"Come to think of it," Tomoya said, "You and Ryou, Kotomi, and even Nagisa are all older than me. If I can only go out with a younger girl, I guess I'll have to try for Tomoyo."

"What?" Kyou turned back to Tomoya now and her purple eyes looked strangely green, "Why her?"

"Well," Tomoya considered, "Yukine and Tomoyo are the only younger girls I know well enough to date and Yukine is already taken."

"You have put way too much thought into this, mister." Kyou knew that she was having a jealous reaction but she didn't know how to stop it. If she didn't do something to cool herself down soon, the next step would be making nonsensical demands and causing a scene. Both were things she would regret later. She knew better than to let herself get enraged like this, but there was just something about Tomoyo that made her blood boil when she thought of that powder blond girl with Tomoya.

"Hey, whoa." Tomoya ran his hand through Kyou's long lavender hair and kissed her on the forehead, "Don't get so upset. You're the one that has a problem with me being younger than you."

 _He kissed me!_ Kyou's anger evaporated.

"What?" Kyou saw that Tomoya misread her anger but decided not to correct him on it, "No! No problem. No problem at all. I mean… it's not even two months, right? No problem at all."

"Um… okay." Tomoya was wondering about Kyou's strange behavior, but more importantly, their train was finally here.

.

 **Sunday afternoon, August 3 – Ichinose residence**

* * *

"We're back," Tomoya, Kyou, and Kotomi called out as they entered the house.

"Welcome home." Tomoyo answered them as she walked from the kitchen to see her friends. "Did you have fun in Hokkaido?"

"Oh yeah, um..." Tomoya realized no-one had told Tomoyo about their change in plans, "we just got back from Okinawa."

There was the sound of something falling and feet padding quickly and suddenly Ryou was standing next to Tomoyo looking at the three new arrivals.

"What?" Ryou cried out, "How can anyone confuse Hokkaido and Okinawa?"

"Ryou?" Kyou looked up to see her crestfallen sister. "It was a surprise gift from Kobayashi-hakase." Kyou saw the tears starting to form in Ryou's eyes. She was a bit stunned to see Ryou so upset that she went to Okinawa without her younger sister.

"Onee-chan," Ryou ran to her sister's arms, "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too Ryou." Kyou patted her sister's head and comforted her. Watching the lavender haired twins, Tomoya could see why Kyou was such a natural at comforting Kotomi.

"Welcome home!" more than a dozen people yelled as the group of arrivals and Ryou made it into the Living Room. They had jumped out from behind furniture and made a pretty good racket as they welcomed back the three friends.

"Eep!" Kotomi jumped back into Tomoya but he caught her from falling and held onto her until she calmed down. She was able to relax as soon as she saw that it was only her friends from the Performance club, the Yoshino's,and Nagisa-chan's parents.

"What brought this on?" Tomoya asked, "I mean… I'm glad to see you guys too, but… Youhei?" One explanation that came to Tomoya's mind was that this was some kind of joke Youhei could be playing.

"Not me," Youhei laughed, "not this time. Actually, this is all Kotomi's doing."

"Eh?" Kotomi gaped. She did not remember setting up a surprise welcome home party for herself.

"All of the Yukatas for the wedding arrived yesterday." Tomoyo explained, "So, since everyone was coming over to try them on anyway, we threw this together when you called to say you would be home soon."

"They're here already?" Kotomi was instantly over her earlier nervousness and seemed uncharacteristically excited about trying on clothes.

"Yes," Tomoyo said, "I have the men's Yukatas hanging in the study upstairs, and the women's Yukatas hanging in the Dojo downstairs."

"Yes!" Kotomi cried as she started to dart for the dojo. She was brought up short by Tomoyo's hand grabbing the back of her shirt.

"Just a minute, Kotomi-chan." Tomoyo said to the surprised girl as if she were an elder lecturing an overexcited child, "This is the garment you are going to get married in. Are you sure you want to try it on while you are still hot and sweaty from traveling back from Okinawa?"

"You're right, Tomoyo-chan." Kotomi seemed to calm down a little. Then she grabbed Kyou's wrist and pulled her toward the stairs, "Come on, Kyou-chan!"

"Um… okay!" Kyou separated from her sister and followed Kotomi up the stairs. There were some surprised looks and a few giggles as everyone watched Kotomi pulling Kyou up the stairs to get cleaned up.

"Are Kotomi-chan and onee-chan going to bathe together?" Ryou asked.

"Yes," Tomoya answered, "they have become pretty close."

Ryou felt a stab of jealousy that another girl was bathing with her sister and was about to object to this but Youhei spoke first.

"Ryou-chan," Youhei asked, "You and Nagisa-chan bathe together too, don't you?"

"Um… well… yes." Ryou answered while both she and Nagisa blushed.

"You and Kyou-chan are interesting twins." Yukine said to Ryou, "You are so different in some ways and yet so similar in others."

Ryou knew what her friends were doing. Recently, she and Nagisa had spent a lot of time with Youhei and Yukine. Although she was having a lot of fun with the three of them, she had really been missing her sister, and her friends had noticed. Even though the twins may have been in different classrooms, until recently they had always gone home to the same house. Also, until recently, Ryou had no idea how much a separation from her sibling would bother her. Youhei's and Yukine's well timed comments made Ryou think before she said something that would have humiliated her later.

"Hey, Ryou-chan..." Tomoya suggested, "she'll probably be too tired tonight, but would you like Kyou to sleep at her parents house with you tomorrow night?"

"Yes!" Ryou lit up from her dejected state as if Tomoya had flicked a happy switch. "I would like that very much!"

Standing beside the now ecstatic Ryou, Nagisa looked a little saddened. Ryou noticed and was about to offer to make it a sleepover.

"No," Nagisa knew what Ryou was going to suggest, "it should be just you and your sister this time. I know how much you've been missing her."

"Thank you, Nagisa." Ryou squeezed Nagisa's hand to let her know how much she appreciated her kindness.

"Nagisa," Tomoyo asked, "if it is not too much of an imposition, may I stay over with you on that night?"

"Huh?" Nagisa, as well as several other people in the room, were surprised at Tomoyo's sudden request. "I would like to try 'girl talk' with you and the next morning, if it is okay with your parents, I would like to learn from you and your father in the bakery."

"That sounds like fun!" Akio cheered.

"I bake bread too." Sanae offered.

"She may not want to learn how to weaponize it." Akio said before he could stop himself.

"So my bread is only good for hurting people?" Sanae started crying and ran out the front door.

"Your bread is dangerous, but I love you!" Akio ran after her.

"Nagisa-senpai, your parents are… pretty wild." Sugisaka said.

There were several murmurs of people agreeing or suggesting that 'wild' may not be the best word to describe them. Nagisa liked the fact that her parents were still energetic and fun, but sometimes it could be embarrassing.

"They may be wild," Yukine said to the group with an affectionate smile, "but I have never met a more caring and loving family. You are very lucky to have them, Nagisa-chan." Everyone that had ever met the Furukawa family signaled agreement with Yukine's comment.

"Well then," Kouko clapped her hands to make sure she had everyones attention, "There are a lot of Yukatas to try on so let's get started."

.

It was a little over an hour later that Kotomi and Kyou were ready to try on their Yukatas. Kyou had insisted that they wash and dry their hair before trying on the new clothes. This made the cleaning up take longer since both of the girls had so much hair to dry. By the time they were ready, everyone else had already changed into their Yukatas, and Akio had returned with his wife. There were some questions about the Yukatas that had been delivered, but everyone decided to wait until Kotomi and Kyou got a chance to put theirs on before asking any questions. All of the men's Yukatas seemed similar in their dark gray and dark blue color scheme. It was the girl's Yukatas that raised questions. It seemed that some of the girls got bright yellow Yukatas with festively colored flowers and butterflies, while other girls got a more subdued gold colored Yukata with only the outlines of flowers and butterflies.

Tomoyo, Fuko, the Choir girls, and the girls from the Paranormal Mystery club were all wearing the more festive yellow Yukatas. Kouko, Yukine, Sanae, Nagisa, and Ryou were all wearing the more subdued gold Yukatas. Finally, the door to the dojo opened to reveal a very happy looking Kotomi and Kyou also wearing the subdued gold Yukatas. The one difference was that Kotomi's gold Yukata had bright yellow patterns on the sleeves and around the hem.

Everyone was confused that there were two different styles for the girls, but only Fuko was upset about it. She didn't care whether she wore the yellow or the gold but she wanted to be wearing the same thing that her sister was wearing.

"Kotomi-chan," Kouko asked more for her sister than for herself, "Why are some of the Yukatas yellow and others are gold?"

"Girls that are both available and young can wear the bright Yukatas." Kotomi explained as if reading from a cultural textbook, "Only the Yukata reserved for Tomoya-kun's grandmother is gold due to age. All the others that you see here are due to their involvement in a relationship."

Sanae and Kouko had started to feel a little dejected until Kotomi clarified that Their Yukatas were gold because they were married, and therefore unavailable… not because they were old. Looking around the room, they could see the other pairings. Yukine, in a gold Yukata, was in a relationship with Youhei. Kotomi and Tomoya. Even Nagisa and Ryou were both wearing gold Yukatas because of their relationship with each other.

"Um," Ryou asked, "Why is onee-chan in a gold Yukata?"

Kyou wondered the same thing until she remembered her conversation with Kotomi. More than conversation, she also remembered the vows and promises that were made between them. Unable to answer her sister, Kyou blushed and turned away.

"Onee-chan?" Ryou asked.

"Kyou-chan is in a committed relationship with me." Kotomi announced.

"What?" most everyone in the house gaped.

"Excuse me," Tomoya interjected, "I think everyone here knows that Kyou-chan will be coming with us when we leave to study abroad, right?" Tomoya asked the question to avoid Kotomi explaining any further. It was clearly something that Kyou was uncomfortable about revealing or discussing so openly.

All but a few of the new members of the group agreed that they knew about those plans.

"So," Tomoya said, "for the next four or five years, Kyou-chan has a commitment to Kotomi involving the education plans."

Kotomi turned to Tomoya and was about to correct the assumption that everyone was making but Tomoya was subtly shaking his head. She didn't know why Tomoya would be telling her not to clear up the reason for Kyou being in a relationship, but he seemed sure of himself. Since this was in the sphere of personal interaction, she decided to trust his judgment, but she would need to talk to him about this later to see what social blunder she was about to make. Kotomi looked over at Kyou and saw her blushing. It suddenly occurred to Kotomi that the social blunder may have already happened and she may have offended Kyou.

 _Oh no, have I offended Kyou-chan?_ Kotomi started to panic, _What have I done? What did I say? Is it something I did? Will she forgive me?_ Kotomi tried to race through all the things that had happened since they got home. She needed to find out how she had offended her friend. The only thing she could come up with was how she pulled Kyou away from her sister when they went to go bathe.

"Okay everyone," Sanae got the group's attention, "I know we would all like to have an impromptu party, but these three just got back from a very long trip and I'm sure they need some time to rest." Sanae had noticed Kyou's blush and Kotomi's panic. She also saw Tomoya trying to hold it all together but he looked exhausted too. "Tomoya-kun," Sanae called to him, "why don't you let Kotomi-chan and Kyou-chan go on up to bed. I can make sure all the girl's Yukatas get hung up and collect any notes on fitting adjustments."

"Thank you, Sanae-san." Tomoya bowed to Nagisa's thoughtful mother. He turned to tell Kotomi and Kyou but they were already climbing the stairs. Tomoya went to the study and made sure the men's Yukata's got hung back up on the correct labeled hangers. None of the men's Yukatas, that were tried on, would need adjustments. That was a bit of good fortune. When he got downstairs, only Tomoyo was still there. She let him know that all the girl's Yukatas were hung up on the right hangers and no adjustments would be needed there either.

"All right then," Tomoya looked around for their bags, "I'll just go put our stuff away..."

"I already took your bags up to your room." Tomoyo told him, "Besides, you need to go lie down before you collapse."

"Thank you," Tomoya was about to make a remark about her bossiness, but he was just too tired.

When he got to his room… the bedroom he shared with Kotomi, he found Kotomi asleep on the right side of the bed and Kyou asleep on the left side. He knew that was a good sign. They may be upset, but not enough to make Kyou go to another room. Tomoya crawled in between them and gently coaxed them in until they were leaning up against him. From Kotomi's experiments, and his own experience, he knew they would both sleep better that way.

Closing his eyes, Tomoya promised to himself that they would talk about this tomorrow. Then, the day after that, he would go to see his dad. Another stressful day… but thanks to what Kotomi and Kyou had done for him on this trip, he knew it was something he could handle now.

.

Downstairs, Tomoyo was back in the kitchen making the dinner she knew they would be getting up for. Her attention was somewhat distracted though. Kotomi had left a planning calendar on the kitchen table and Tomoyo had looked over the planned events. According to the calendar, Kyou and Kotomi would be leaving for America sometime between December 26 and January 5. Tomoya wouldn't be leaving until after the High School graduation ceremony in March. That meant she would be alone with Tomoya in this house for two months.

 _I really don't know if I can do that._ Tomoyo looked at the dates again and thought to herself, _I really don't._

The smell of something burning snapped her out of those thoughts… for a while.

.

Kyou was hugging Kotomi and feeling like she could fly without wings. Kotomi was saying something.

"… left for you to do is literally kiss and make up." Kotomi said. Then Kotomi spun her around so Kyou was leaning back into Kotomi and facing Tomoya. Kotomi took both of Kyou's hands and held them as Tomoya moved to Kyou. For a moment, Kyou felt a rush of embarrassment and wanted to flee, but Kotomi was holding her in place and Tomoya's hands were now on her shoulders.

His hands moved and lifted her face from looking at the ground to looking at him. She could see that he wanted to kiss her and there was nothing she wanted more in the universe than to kiss him too. She was breathing in pants as Tomoya leaned in and kissed her on the lips. At first, nothing more than a gentle touch of the lips. But then, all the passion and love burned up from her heart in an all consuming inferno. Kotomi squeezed her hands tight and held on as Kyou started to feel week from such a powerful rose colored emotional outburst.

She never wanted this kiss to end. She would keep on kissing just like this until the stars burned out. Nothing would interrupt such passion, such love.

Except, she needed to pee.

So, she needed to wake up.

 _Wake up?_

Kyou opened her eyes and saw that she had been asleep in bed next to Tomoya. Her arm was on his left shoulder and her hand was laying across his chest. Her fingers were touching Kotomi's fingers, whose hand was also on Tomoya's chest.

 _Oh no, not again!_ Kyou wished she could throw a fist pounding and kicking fit. _How many more times am I going to relive that moment in my dreams?_

.

 **Monday night, August 4 – Fujibayashi home**

* * *

The homecoming to her parents house had not been nearly as stressful as Kyou had imagined. When Tomoya told her what he had set up, she had been briefly furious but he had been right. She did need to visit and let them know that she was still a member of their family. It seemed strange to say that, since she wasn't that far away and really hadn't been living at the Ichinose house all that long, but it was still longer than she had ever been away from home before.

Kyou had expected her father to demand that she answer a thousand questions over dinner about living in a house with a boy and no parents around, but he only seemed to have praise for Tomoya and Kotomi too. She figured out what had him behaving so positively when the subject of her education plans came up. When she sounded excited about leaving with Kotomi at the end of the year and studying abroad, her father lit up like a rocket. Her mother and Ryou were saddened that she would be leaving so soon when classes wouldn't start for seven more months, but they understood the desire to get acclimated to the language, culture, and climate of the place where they would be going to school.

After Kyou and Ryou had cleared the table and taken care of the dishes, they were ready to head off to bath and bed.

"Onee-chan," Ryou fidgeted, "you'll have to sleep in my room tonight."

"Huh?" Kyou didn't mind, but it seemed odd for Ryou to say it.

"Mother and I have been going through a lot of old stuff and your room is full of boxes right now." Ryou explained.

"Oh, okay." Kyou brushed it off and headed for Ryou's room.

"You're not upset?" Ryou looked at her sister as if she had been replaced by an alien that didn't know exactly how Kyou was really supposed to behave. The real Kyou, the one she had known all of her life, would have blown up about her room being used for storage. She would have spent half the night moving everything back where it came from, before going to bed.

"No," Kyou sounded surprised that Ryou would ask, then said, "I'm here to spend time with you. What better way than spending the night in the same room like we used to when there were storms?"

"Oh, yeah!" Ryou was glad that Kyou remembered. When she was younger, she was terribly afraid of the thunder and couldn't feel safe unless Kyou was holding her. Even now, she didn't like thunder and always missed her sister's safe embrace when the storms rolled in.

In minutes, they were in the bath and both girls were looking forward to soaking in the tub. Ryou felt like she was in heaven when Kyou was washing her back like she always did, but when it came turn to wash Kyou's back, she remembered seeing Kyou following Kotomi up the stairs to bathe with her.

"Does Kotomi-chan wash your back now?" Ryou asked tentatively.

"Yes… sometimes." Kyou almost told her sister that other times Tomoya washed her back, but she didn't know if they would keep doing that since the trip was over so there was no point in bringing it up.

"Do you like living… there?" Ryou asked.

"Yes," Kyou could feel her younger sister's confusion and unhappiness, "they are very good friends and I am learning a lot every day."

"Learning a lot?" Ryou asked.

"Yeah, you can't be around Kotomi-chan and not learn something." Kyou laughed, "Just living in the house with everyone speaking English has already helped my language grades, and with Kotomi-chan tutoring me, I know I'll do even better."

"Hah," Ryou smiled, "it looks like my grades won't be better than yours next time."

"No, you get to hold that record." Kyou told her sister, "Next semester is all college prep and I've already been accepted to the school Kobayashi-hakase has arranged for me."

"Oh!" Ryou was surprised. This was pretty big news and she wondered why Kyou hadn't brought it up at the dinner table with her parents. "Will you be going to the same school with Kotomi?"

"No," Kyou gave her sister a lopsided grin, "Kotomi-chan is the only person from our whole school that could get into that place. It is pretty elite. I'll be going to the same university with Tomoya-kun."

Ryou rinsed the soap off her sister's back and they both got into the tub full of hot water. Each of them had been quiet for a while and seemed to be thinking things over.

"Is it going to be okay?" Ryou finally asked, "I mean, they will be married to each other by then. Will you be okay living in the same place and going to the same school with her husband?"

"Yeah, I think so." Kyou was less worried about living in that environment than she was about how much to tell her sister. She and Ryou had always shared everything. They had kept each other's secrets and been each other's counsel. But Kyou wondered if Ryou would understand…

"Are you sure?" Ryou could see that something was troubling Kyou, "Not too long ago you were pretty torn up about Tomoya-kun, remember?"

"Yeah, but a lot has changed and I'm okay with it now." Kyou said.

"A lot has changed?" Ryou asked, "So, you don't love Tomoya-kun any more?"

"No," Kyou coughed, "I probably love him even more now."

"What?" Ryou couldn't see how that change could be an improvement for her sister, "How does that make things better for you?"

"By itself, I guess it doesn't really. But…" Kyou decided to trust her sister, "Tomoya confessed that he loves me too."

"What? Ryou gasped. "Does that mean… is he breaking up with Kotomi?"

"No," Kyou was worried that Ryou would not understand and think that she was behaving contemptibly or stupidly. At the same time, it was humorous to watch Ryou's astounded reactions to what Kyou was telling her. "He still loves her and they are still getting married."

"So, they will be married to each other but you and Tomoya will be secretly in love with each other? Never touching, or kissing, or… anything? An existence of unrequited love… forever? Onee-chan, that sounds terrible!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Kyou chuckled. She knew she could say things that would dispel those fears, but Kyou worried that they would only be replaced with another set of worries and concerns. "First of all, we are not secretly in love."

"Huh?" Ryou was genuinely confused. She wanted to scream, _You are in love with Tomoya-kun or you're not in love with Tomoya-kun… make up your mind!_

"Kotomi knew Tomoya was in love with me before he confessed to me." Kyou said.

"She knew?" Ryou was stunned, "And she accepted it?"

"She encouraged it." Kyou watched her sister's expression change to utter disbelief.

"There's no way..." Ryou didn't often think that her sister would lie to her, but surely she must be mistaken about this.

"Kotomi..." Kyou interrupted Ryou, "That girl is a genius of the highest order when it comes to science, but 'socially awkward' does not even begin to describe how different she is from other girls… or even the rest of humanity."

"Huh?" Ryou now believed that Kyou wasn't deceived or just mistaken, but she did want to understand what Kyou was saying about Kotomi.

"Let's see," Kyou wondered where to start, "before Tomoya-kun had ever told me that he loved me, he had discussed it with Kotomi-chan. Any normal girl would be furious or crushed. A normal girl would demand that he get over it, forget her, or break up… right?"

"Um, yeah." Ryou agreed so far.

"But Kotomi-chan isn't normal, is she?" Kyou related the story as Tomoya had told her, "She encouraged him and told him that he needed to confess to me so that we can understand each other properly."

"So," Ryou tried to understand what Kyou was telling her, "Kotomi-chan thinks that talking it out will help you forget about being in love with her boyfriend?"

"Not exactly." Kyou smirked, "She said that communication is the foundation of understanding and understanding is needed for our love to grow."

"Grow?" Ryou was stunned again. "Doesn't she know how painful that will be for you? To love someone so much and not be able to…"

"We have kissed." Kyou stopped her sister before she got on a roll again.

"What?" Ryou didn't know how many times she could handle being stunned like this. She was starting to feel a little light headed. "Did Kotomi-chan find out?"

"She already knew." Kyou smirked. It was a strange feeling, telling someone else the unusual direction her life had taken. Kyou hoped her sister would take it well, but she was already feeling better about a lot of the things she had been keeping bottled up inside. She had been scared that talking about this would only make her feel insecure in the choices she had made, but it wasn't that way at all. With every revelation, with every admission, Kyou felt more confident. Only Ryou could do that for her. Only Ryou could hear her out and go limp and slip under the water… "Ryou!"

Kyou grabbed her sister and pulled her back up. Turning her around, she pulled her younger sister back into her lap and laid Ryou's head back on her shoulder. One arm went around her sister's waist to hold her in place, while she caressed her sister's face with her other hand.

"Oh Ryou, I'm sorry for shocking you so much." Kyou said to her unconscious sister. For several minutes, she just sat and caressed her sister until she felt Ryou stir.

"Onee-chan?" Ryou asked as she woke up in her sister's arms.

"Ryou-chan?" Kyou found herself replying in the Kotomi pattern out of habit.

"I… I've missed you so much." Ryou started to cry, "I didn't think it would be this bad, but..."

"It's okay," Kyou comforted her sister, "I think it's worse for us because we're twins."

"You've missed me too?" Ryou asked.

"Yeah," Kyou playfully smacked her sister's forehead with her hand, "I don't think I realized how much I missed you because I've been so busy. But I felt it while I was talking to you just now. I've been worried about… a lot of things. It really helps to talk to you about it."

"Oh… I'm glad I could help." Ryou was also glad that her sister couldn't see her face at the moment. Ryou was still troubled by all of this. There were so many ways that things could go badly for her sister. So many ways she could be hurt.

"What about you?" Kyou asked, "How are things working out with you and Nagisa-chan?"

"Oh, we're good." Ryou said, "We've decided to try to go to the same university."

"Really?" Kyou asked, "Will she be able to do well enough on the tests?"

"She's actually very good on the tests." Ryou felt a little defensive about her girlfriend, "Her class standing would have been better if she hadn't been sick."

"Oh yeah," Kyou remembered part of a conversation that she had with Kotomi on the train ride into Sapporo, "Kotomi doesn't think that Nagisa-chan will be getting sick any more. Or at least, not that unexplainable hot-and-cold sickness."

"Really? Why does she think that?" Ryou was hopeful that Kotomi was right, but she wasn't a doctor… at least not yet.

"Oh.. uh…" Kyou closed her eyes and tried to remember what Kotomi had said, "The um… small dimensions where the strings go between the panes that make up the boundaries of the parallel universes… something, something… controlled portals and energy transfer."

"Yeah," Ryou agreed, "that sounds like Kotomi-chan. But what does it mean?"

"So, you remember Tomoya telling us about the girl in the cabin, right?" Kyou asked.

"Nagisa's daughter, Ushio?" Ryou answered.

"Yes," Kyou said, "according to Tomoya, the last thing she did, before her world collapsed, was to release the people in this world."

"But that was just Tomoya and Fuko." Ryou worried.

"Kotomi thinks that Nagisa may have been the portal to our universe that Ushio used to bring Tomoya there. So, if the portal is closed, she shouldn't get sick anymore… or something like that."

"I hope Kotomi is right." Ryou wanted to believe in Kotomi now, more than anything. The night when Nagisa almost died still haunted Ryou. Several times, she and Tomoyo had wanted to call the emergency services but it had been Kotomi that had persuaded them all that there was nothing current medical science could do in this situation. Akio and Sanae had even supported Kotomi's suggestion and confirmed that every medical professional that had ever looked at Nagisa's condition had admitted that they had no idea what the cause was, and would only suggest treating the symptoms. They had all put their faith in Kotomi that night and she had been right. Ryou desperately hoped that Kotomi was right again.

Kotomi… Ryou was not usually one to hate, but it would be so easy to hate Kotomi. Kotomi had taken the only guy her sister had ever loved. Kotomi took her sister away from home… away from Ryou. And soon, Kotomi would be taking her sister half way around the world. It seemed that all Kotomi ever did was take things away from the Fujibayashi sisters. It would be so easy…

"How do you feel about Kotomi-chan?" Ryou asked her twin.

"Until recently, I wasn't sure." Kyou felt another burden lifting as she told Ryou, "Kotomi confessed to me that she loves me too. Having grown up alone for so long, she doesn't know what that means yet. She thinks she may love me like a sister."

"What?" Ryou spun out of her onee-chan's arms and was standing in the bath. Uncharacteristically of Ryou, her fists were clenched and she was clearly furious.

"Ryou?" Kyou was shocked, "What's wrong?" Kyou had expected her sister to be stunned again, but hadn't expected anything like this.

"No!" Ryou cried, "She's already taken you away from me! You can't let her replace me too! You just can't." Ryou's anger dissolved into tears as her nightmarish imagination played her an image of Kyou leaving her behind… forgetting about her… replacing her with Kotomi.

"I would never do that." Kyou tried to console her sister, but she was still enraged.

"You are my onee-chan, MINE!" Ryou yelled as the anger returned to her, "She doesn't get to call you that, only I do! Only me… I WON'T LET HER CALL YOU ONEE-CHAN!"

"SIT DOWN!" Kyou was on her feet now too and Ryou saw her sister achieving her demonic angel personae.

"Eeep!" Ryou was down in the water in a flash. Kyou rarely got this upset with Ryou, but when she did… it was usually because Ryou was doing something she shouldn't. The last time this had happened, the twins hadn't spoken with each other in weeks. Ryou buried her face in her hands and cried as she thought that she had just ruined what little time she had left with her sister.

"Baka." Kyou sat back down in the water and thumped the crown of Ryou's head, "If that's all you're worried about, you're really not using your brain."

"Huh?" Ryou reached up to rub her head where she had been thumped and looked up to see Kyou smiling back at her. Ryou wanted to ask her onee-chan why she was being so mean, but at least she was smiling.

"When is our birthday?" Kyou smirked.

"Um, September ninth." Ryou said.

"And when did we go to Kotomi's birthday party?" Kyou's smirk changed to a grin.

"Oh, back in May. But..." Ryou was confused.

"So if Kotomi and I thought of each other as sisters, I would never be her onee-chan. She would be my onee-chan, right?"

"Oh!" Ryou felt really stupid all of the sudden, "Please don't hate me, onee-chan!"

"Hate you?" Kyou reached across the tub and pulled her sister back into her embrace, "I will never hate you. I will always be your onee-chan. That will never change."

"I'm sorry!" Ryou started to cry as the fears were wiped away, "I'm so sorry…" In her beloved sister's arms, she could cry it all out. She had been worried that she was losing Kyou's love. True, she still felt loved by Nagisa, but the love for her sister was different. It had always been there and they had always been together. Knowing that Kyou was there was like knowing that she was loved and safe. Now that they had lived apart for a while, Ryou was afraid. She was afraid that Kyou would replace her with her new friends and their love would go cold. But now she knew they were all just baseless fears and Kyou had not forgotten her little sister. Ryou felt loved again. She felt safe again.

.

 **Tuesday early morning, August 5 – Furukawa residence**

* * *

Akio was up early as always. He had already seen to the ovens and was about to start the prep for the days breads and pastries, when he remembered that Tomoyo wanted to learn about baking. He had planned on waking the girls up later but if she wanted to learn about the world of baking, one of the first things to know is that you have to be up way too dang early in the morning. He wondered how serious this girl was and if she would take one look at the clock and want to just go back to sleep. He revised his opinion of her when he got to Nagisa's room and looked in on them.

Nagisa was sleeping soundly with her head in Tomoyo's lap and her arms wrapped around the powder blond's waist. Tomoyo was just sitting quietly and gently stroking Nagisa's auburn hair. Looking up at Tomoyo, he could see that she was clearly awake and was looking back at him. Knowing how Nagisa and Ryou felt about each other, Akio was a little concerned about what he was seeing.

"What's going on?" Akio asked quietly.

"She was calling out for Ryou in her sleep." Tomoyo said, "I think she was having a nightmare."

"That's possible," Akio admitted, "she and Ryou have been inseparable since the night that she almost..."

"Yes." Tomoyo remembered the strange night when they had all tried so hard to keep Tomoya and Nagisa from freezing to death.

"Well, let her keep sleeping or wake her up," Akio told Tomoyo, "but if you want to learn about baking, we need to start now."

Tomoyo considered replacing her lap with a pillow and letting Nagisa keep sleeping, but if all she was going to do was have another nightmare, getting up was the better option.

.

An hour later and Tomoyo had learned much from Akio about the making of bread and pastries. She also noticed that Nagisa knew what to do without needing any supervision from her father. She supposed it was only natural that Nagisa would learn from her father on all the holidays and Sundays that she was likely to have helped out. When Sanae came into the bakery, it was almost as if she were sneaking in and trying to get away with something. Tomoyo noticed that both Akio and Nagisa were busy with other things and kept out of Sanae's way. Tomoyo was curious though, and wandered over to observe since she was free.

When she got to the part of the bakery kitchen where Sanae was working, she saw a horror in the making. Sanae had whole apples and was simply wrapping pastry dough around them. Tomoyo considered the possibilities but there were too many problems with this approach.

"Sanae," Tomoyo asked, "what are you doing?"

"Oh, Tomoyo," Sanae seemed startled, "I'm going to make some apple pastries. I'm going to call them, Whole Apple Pastries!"

"I see." Tomoyo considered the name and asked, "Are you preparing them for treats to be given to horses?"

"Huh?" Sanae looked up in surprise, "Why would you say that?"

"Humans don't eat the whole apple, but horses do." Tomoyo replied, "I notice that you are not coring them so the pastry will have the seeds and stem. I don't believe humans will like that."

"So… you're saying that my pastries are only good for horses?" Sanae started to run out of the store but stopped when she heard Akio's bark.

"Hey!" Akio had his signature metal baseball bat in his hand as he descended on Tomoyo for making his wife cry. "You can't just..."

PING! A loud metallic sound filled the room. Akio found himself on the floor with both of his hands hurting. A bit of concrete dust was falling on him from above and he looked up to see all but the handle of his favorite baseball bat embedded in the ceiling. "What the..."

"Sorry," Tomoyo was apologizing, "it was an automatic response. It is best if you do not attack me in the future."

"Huh?" Akio tried to recall what had happened but it had been too fast. "I wasn't really going to attack you."

"Even in jest, it is a bad idea." Tomoyo warned him. Then, turning to the stunned Sanae she said, "I have an idea how to make this work."

"Huh?" Sanae looked at the powder blond girl as if she had suddenly grown wings.

"The whole apple pastry." Tomoyo reminded her, "If you want to make it for humans, I think I might know a way to make it work."

"Oh!" Sanae was suddenly interested. "Really?"

"Yes," Tomoyo looked at the available supplies and said, "I think you have a good idea. The problem was in execution. No-one wants to eat the stem and seeds, and the pastry will be burned long before the apple is done. But if we consider this..."

.

Nagisa watched Tomoyo and her mother discuss their pastry idea while her dad tried to get his bat out of the ceiling. This part of the shop had been built like a multi-story building and the ceiling of this room was the concrete floor of the room above. If the bat had gone into a normal ceiling it would have been no problem to get it out, but in this case…

Nagisa couldn't help but laugh as her dad first tried jumping up to grab the handle. It was a little too high for him though.

Next, he brought in a ladder and was now easily able to grab the handle of the bat. It didn't budge though. He pulled and tugged to no avail. In the end, he tried stepping off the ladder and hanging from the exposed handle – and still, the bat would not budge.

Nagisa tended to the normal baking routine while her father continued to try to get his bat back and Tomoyo worked with Sanae on their pastry invention. Akio was still trying to dislodge his bat, when the first run of the Whole Apple Pastries were ready to come out of the oven.

JINGLE! The bells at the front door rang out and Nagisa was about to give the standard 'good morning' when she saw it was Ryou and Kyou.

"Ryou!" Nagisa dashed from the register and gave her girlfriend a hug.

"Hey, I'm here too!" Kyou jokingly pouted.

"Oh!" Nagisa didn't understand that Kyou was joking, "I'm sorry Kyou-chan. Of course, I'm glad to see you too."

"It's okay, I was kidding." Kyou laughed at the flustered Nagisa, "I understand."

"Hey," Ryou sniffed, "something smells really good."

"Yeah," Nagisa looked a little worried, "My mom made something with Tomoyo and it smells good, but..."

"Tomoyo?" Kyou had forgotten that Tomoyo had stayed the night with Nagisa. _Oh great, first thing in the morning and my day had to be ruined because of her._ Kyou regretted that thought as soon as it came to her mind and vowed to try and make this visit as friendly and pleasant as possible.

"But you're afraid it will be inedible again." Ryou asked.

"Huh?" Kyou wondered when she saw Nagisa nod her head in agreement.

"Her mother's baking can be like my cooking." Ryou dejectedly reminded her sister.

"Hmmm." Kyou was about to suggest to her sister that they pretend that they just had a big breakfast and couldn't eat another bite when she heard her name called out… by Tomoyo.

"Kyou!" Tomoyo appeared from behind the curtain that blocked the kitchen area, "I'm so glad to see you." She sounded like she meant it and quickly crossed the distance to bring Kyou what looked like a spherical pastry with a light glaze on the top half.

"It's… umm… good to see you too." Kyou lied.

"Please try this and give me your honest opinion." Tomoyo offered the pastry sphere to Kyou.

"Why me?" Kyou was suspicious.

"Because you are a better cook than me and I value your opinion." Tomoyo answered sincerely.

"You… you think that I am a better cook than you?" Kyou was flabbergasted.

"It is indisputable." Tomoyo said, "There may be a few things that I do better than you, but if there were any kind of competition, I have no doubt that you would win."

"Thank you," Kyou was at a loss for words. If Tomoyo knew that Kyou thought of her as a rival, she certainly didn't show it.

"Then, you'll try it?" Tomoyo seemed hopeful.

"Yes," Kyou accepted the unusual looking pastry apprehensively. Nagisa and Ryou's warnings were still in her mind, but she also had a high opinion of Tomoyo's cooking and if she and Sanae had worked on it together, there was a chance that it would turn out at least as well as the things that Kyou and Ryou worked on together. She tried a bite.

"Tell me!" Tomoyo appealed to Kyou, "What do you taste?"

"The pastry crust is light and flaky. There is apple under the crust. It tastes like it has been… baked?" Kyou was trying to figure out how they had prepared the apple.

"It was baked with the pastry dough, but prior to baking it was prepared in a microwave." Tomoyo admitted.

"But prepared… as if for baking?" Kyou could taste the butter, cinnamon, and something else in the apple.

"Yes!" Tomoyo was again impressed with Kyou's culinary prowess.

"This is good!" Kyou praised the effort as she held it out for Nagisa and Ryou to have a bite.

"Yes, I thought so too." Tomoyo then challenged Kyou, "Tell me what you would do different. How would you make it better?"

"I… I don't know." Kyou was on the spot now. Looking at Tomoyo, she could tell that the girl wasn't joking with her. Tomoyo wanted Kyou's opinion as someone she respected. _Dammit Tomoyo, you make it so hard to hate you!_ Instead of ranting, Kyou took a deep breath and asked, "Do you have any nuts, raisins, or caramel?"

"I don't know." Tomoyo was already figuring out what Kyou might have in mind, "We can ask Sanae, she is still in the bakery kitchen."

Ryou and Nagisa watched the two long haired girls head off to the kitchen together in silence. Ryou didn't know how much Nagisa had figured out but she knew that her sister had a problem with Tomoyo… or at least she used to.

"Did they just…" Ryou started to ask but felt the answer was far too weird.

"… bond over cooking?" Nagisa finished the sentence, "Yeah, it looks like they did."

"Why is there a baseball bat sticking out of the ceiling?" They heard Kyou's surprised voice from the kitchen. A moment later, they saw Akio running through the bakery.

"I'll never get my bat baaaaaaaack!" Akio cried out as he ran out the front door.

"Akio, my darling!" Sanae was close on his heels, "We can buy you another bat!"

"That was different." Ryou called it.


	22. Chapter 22 - Yukata Meanings

**Tuesday morning, August 5 – Okazaki residence**

* * *

The house looked worse than usual. The vile odor of urine, vomit, alcohol and cigarettes wafted out from the front of the place and assaulted Tomoya and Kotomi before they ever got to the door. Tomoya wondered if it had always been this bad and he had just been used to it because he lived there, or was it really worse now. There was uncollected mail in the mailbox and on the ground in front of the door. Kotomi was holding a scarf over her nose and mouth but it wasn't helping enough.

"It wasn't like this before." Kotomi said, "Do you think something happened to him?"

"Yeah," Tomoya looked down, "his ungrateful son moved out and left him all alone."

"Oh," Kotomi looked at the sadness in Tomoya's face and said, "It looks like he just gave up. I know that you are doing the right thing, Tomoya-kun."

"Wait here," Tomoya said to her, "Give me a few minutes to open the place up and let it air out."

"Okay." Kotomi agreed. She waited by the gate as Tomoya recovered the spare key from under a broken planter and went into the dark house. Kotomi watched and listened as Tomoya went through the house opening everything that could be opened. Soon she could see some of the curtains flutter through open windows in the gentle breeze. Unfortunately, the breeze was bringing the stench of the house to her. Kotomi backed further away from the house to try to get a clean breath of air but it was no good. The foul odor of that house was everywhere. It was all Kotomi could do to keep from retching.

"Kotomi-chan," Tomoya said as he came through the gate, "he is worse than I've ever seen him. I'll need to try to sober him up before I can talk to him and… it could take a while."

"I'm sorry, Tomoya-kun…" Kotomi wanted to help but she knew if she got any closer to that house, she would only add to the uncleanliness of the place.

"It's okay." Tomoya smiled grimly, "I would never forgive myself for dragging you into a place this awful. You should go back to the house and I'll call you when it's safe… or when I'm done."

"Yes, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi went up on her toes and kissed Tomoya, "You are doing the right thing."

"Thanks," Tomoya said. Then his smile faded as he turned and walked back into the wretched house.

.

"Kotomi-chan?" a familiar voice called out to her as she walked alone. Looking up, Kotomi saw Youhei and Yukine walking toward her.

"Good morning!" Kotomi called out to them. Youhei had his usual friendly expression but Yukine looked concerned as they approached. Without a word, Yukine took Kotomi's hands and simply looked back into Kotomi's eyes.

"Kotomi-senpai," Yukine gave Kotomi a minute to calm down a bit, then asked her, "can you tell me what is bothering you?"

Kotomi told Youhei and Yukine of the plan to reconcile the father and the son and how Tomoya was there now and trying so hard. Then she told them of the foul wretched place that the Okazaki home had become.

"That's a pretty gutsy move, Kotomi-chan." Youhei complemented Kotomi in his own way, "He never did like talking about his dad, even with me."

"I wanted to be by his side when he went through this." Kotomi told them, "I wanted to help him but it was so awful..."

"We always want to help the ones we love." Yukine said, "But we are limited by what we can do. Kotomi-chan, do you have any money?"

"Um… yes." Kotomi was confused that Yukine's conversation had gone that way, "Do you need some?"

"No." Yukine smiled, "Come with me and I will show you how you can help Tomoya and his father, and several kind old ladies that you don't even know yet." Kotomi did not know where Yukine was taking her, but she felt that she was being taken away from the feelings of uselessness that had been depressing her. For that, Kotomi was very grateful.

.

An hour later, and after a visit to an old grocery store where day laborers gathered, Kotomi, Youhei, and Yukine arrived back at the Okazaki home. With them were six older women carrying bags of cleaning supplies. Yukine had described the nature of the house that was to be cleaned to the gathered women at the store and she didn't hide the fact that the place was in terrible shape. She had let them know that it would be a big task that they would have ahead of them. Six of the women had stepped forward and were prepared to compete for the work but Kotomi surprised everyone, as well as Yukine, when she said she would hire all of them.

Now, they were here and like a field commander, Yukine sent the troops in to do battle with the chaotic enemies of cleanliness and order. There were no restrictions to what they should clean. Rooms, dishes, even clothes. They would tackle them all. Initially stunned by the sudden invasion of older women into his father's house, Tomoya was about to challenge them when he saw someone familiar follow them in.

"Yukine-chan?" Tomoya called out.

"Ah, Tomoya-senpai!" Yukine smiled, "This is Kotomi-senpai's gift. You can leave the cleaning to us and concentrate on your father now."

"Oh… thank you!" Tomoya got up from what he had been cleaning and went to his father's room where he had left him. "Where is…"

"Youhei-kun is out front with Kotomi-senpai." Yukine explained, "I will let her know when it is safe to come inside."

"Oh… uh… thanks again, Yukine-chan." Tomoya remembered when Youhei referred to his girlfriend as 'reinforcements' back when Kotomi had gone into the girl's showers to keep Kyou and Tomoyo from killing each other. Tomoya could only agree with that description now. As he watched her confidently commanding her forces, he could see why Youhei's faith in her was absolute. He didn't know if these women had ever worked as a team before, but under Yukine's guidance, they were amazingly efficient. With their combined efforts, the worst of the odor was gone within an hour and Kotomi was able to enter the house.

There was still much to do, but they had already cleaned the small living room enough that it was presentable. From the entrance to the room, Kotomi saw that Tomoya and his father were seated in there. A carafe of coffee was on the table as well as several mismatched, but clean cups. There was no sugar or cream for the coffee, but black coffee might help Naoyuki sober up faster.

"Kotomi-senpai." Yukine said from behind Kotomi.

"Yukine-chan?" Kotomi turned to Youhei and Yukine.

"You should go on in and be with Tomoya now." Yukine said, "we will check on the work being done and look in on you later, okay?"

"Thank you very much, Youhei-kun, Yukine-chan." Kotomi bowed to emphasize her appreciation.

Dull, bleary eyes looked over at Kotomi as she sat down next to Tomoya-kun. The elder Okazaki was wearing relatively clean clothes and his hair was combed, so Tomoya must have cleaned him up some while Kotomi had been away. Kotomi looked back at the older man and smiled.

"This is Kotomi. We're getting married soon." Tomoya said to Naoyuki, "She'll be your daughter-in-law."

"Hello, Okazaki-san." Kotomi said.

"Hello." Naoyuki replied.

"Do you remember what I told you before?" Tomoya asked his father.

"Um… uh…" Naoyuki looked like he was trying to remember but wasn't really sure if he was awake or not.

"I met your mother." Tomoya patiently said, "I went on a trip with Kotomi, to Hokkaido. We went to the place you took me to once before. The place with the sunflowers and the lighthouse."

"Yeah." Naoyuki responded. It looked like he was remembering too.

"Obasan told me a lot of stories." Tomoya pressed on, "It made me realize how difficult it all must have been for you. It made me remember a lot of things too."

"Yeah." Naoyuki looked tired, but he kept his head up and continued to listen to his son. The son that was talking to him again. _Tomoya-kun is talking to me. This must be a dream._

"Hey Pops." Tomoya got to the heart of the matter now, "You must be tired. I think it's all right for you to rest now. How about going home. Your mother's waiting. She's at the place where you took my hand and promised her that you would raise me yourself."

"Hmm." Naoyuki seemed to hear the words but perhaps he was still not able to think clearly. "You've done enough. So relax now." Tomoya's voice started to tremble, "Go home and live with your mother. She needs you too."

"Yeah?" It seemed Naoyuki was finally comprehending what was happening around him, "Is it… over now?"

"Is what over?" Tomoya asked.

"Have I done it? Am I finished?" He seemed to be coming out of his confusion but needed someone to tell him that it was okay to rest now.

"You sacrificed everything and raised me." Tomoya struggled to hold back the tears as he bit off the words, "You spent your entire life on a selfish son like me. You've done enough."

"I see… So I managed to do it without even knowing. That's great." Naoyuki smiled and sighed as he accepted that his trials had ended and he could finally rest.

.

Kotomi and Tomoya joined Yukine and Youhei in the dining room that looked remarkably better now.

"How is your dad?" Youhei asked.

"He's…" Tomoya couldn't put into words what he was thinking. He knew his dad wasn't doing well, but he felt responsible for that. He felt guilty for the mental anguish he had caused his father since he had moved out… and even before that. Since middle school… since they had stopped talking. They had stopped being a family. It was true that Naoyuki's alcohol fueled actions had been the cause of the problem, but the years that followed… Tomoya blamed himself that year after year, there had never been any chance of reconciliation between them.

"He is sleeping now. He was still a little confused that Tomoya is talking to him." Kotomi responded for her morose boyfriend. "I believe he will be better when he wakes up and can think more clearly."

Just then, they all heard a loud crash that sounded like it came from the kitchen. Kotomi grabbed Tomoya's arm and hid her face in his shoulder. Youhei flinched and Yukine looked toward the sound.

"I'll check on the cleaning." Yukine calmly said as she got up from the floor. Turning to Tomoya she asked, "Your father is never coming back here, right?"

"That's right." Tomoya said. Then he thought about it again and said, "Well, maybe once. Just for a night. Why?"

"There are a lot of things that look broken or… unsalvagable." Yukine tried to cushion the blow that many appliances and even some furniture had been ruined from neglect or misuse.

"Throw them out." Tomoya said calmly.

"Are you sure?" Kotomi asked, "There may be something sentimental that you might want to keep."

"No," Tomoya said to Kotomi, "I brought anything important with me when I moved into your house."

Kotomi was saddened as she remembered the pathetically small bag that he had brought with him that night.

.

 **Tuesday evening, August 5 – Train Station**

* * *

Youhei, Yukine, and Kotomi stood with Tomoya at the train station. His father was sober now and realizing just how much had changed with his son as he clutched the traveling bag that Tomoya had given him.

"I put a change of clothes and some money in, all right?" Tomoya gestured at the bag.

"Yeah, thank you." Naoyuki looked at his son with wonder and pride.

"I'll give Obasan a call. Don't lose your bag on the way, all right?" Tomoya said.

"Yeah." Naoyuki smiled as he recalled saying similar things to Tomoya when he was a child. Still smiling, he gave the response that Tomoya had given him in that memory, "I'll be careful."

"We'll take care of the house, and any outstanding bills." Kotomi assured the man that would soon be her father-n-law.

"I'm sorry." Naoyuki was embarrassed that he had let his situation become so desperate, but he didn't let that get to him too much. He was still so happy that his son was talking to him again… that Tomoya had become so responsible… His pride in his son anchored him to the moment. It was a shield against the usual slide into depression and self loathing. With an anchor like that, Naoyuki thought he could make it through the day. And if he could make it through today, he had hope that he could make it through tomorrow, and the next day… and the next. _Oh Tomoya-kun, if you had any idea how much you mean to me right now..._

"It's okay," Kotomi told him, "We can take care of this."

"Yeah, thanks." Naoyuki bowed to Kotomi. Then turning to Tomoya, he said, "I'll be going now."

"Oof!" Tomoya almost started to say more, but Youhei elbowed him in the gut.

"Don't drag this out so much," Youhei said, "you act like you're never going to see him again but he's going to be back in twelve days for the wedding, right?"

"Tomoya-senpai," Yukine added, "there will be time for long talks later. For now, it is important that he doesn't miss his train." The moment she finished talking, they could all hear an announcement from the station that his train was boarding.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tomoya said to his friends.

"I'll be going now." Naoyuki said again.

"Yeah. Take care." Tomoya replied.

"You too, Tomoya." Naoyuki set his shoulders, turned and walked to the train platform that would take him home to Hokkaido.

.

As the four friends walked back from the train station, Tomoya thought of the amazing transformation that had happened at his childhood home. The day laborers had been paid well for the monumental effort they had made, and the Okazaki home was looking better than Tomoya had ever remembered. There were many items to be picked up by the recyclers and refuse collection teams.

Unfortunately, even though everything looked clean, they would probably never be able to completely get rid of the smell unless they ripped out the ceilings, walls and floors and replaced them. It was nowhere near as bad as it had been before, but the background smells of cigarettes and spilled alcohol were still there. Of course, a background smell like that affected various people differently. Kotomi didn't think she could stay there for more than a few hours before she would start feeling queasy. The smell brought back bad memories to Tomoya. Youhei didn't care one way or the other and to Yukine, it actually made the place feel like home to her.

"What do you plan on doing with the house?" Youhei asked as they walked through the light of the setting sun.

"I didn't have any plans." Tomoya said, "He was probably behind on the rent so I guess we can inform them that the place is now vacant when we take care of that."

Kotomi was carrying a bag full of notices, bills and what few financial notes Naoyuki had kept. She knew she wouldn't understand them all, but she would ask Kobayashi-hakase for help and was certain it would all be straightened out soon. Looking at Tomoya, she was happy. As bad as she was at reading people, she could tell that Tomoya was feeling better having lost the baggage of anger and guilt that he had been carrying around. His soured relationship with his father wasn't entirely mended, but it had come a long way. Well, maybe he hadn't entirely lost that baggage, but the load was much, much lighter now.

.

 **Wednesday early morning, August 6 – Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

There was no light in the sky yet. It was that time of night when the only way to tell if it was 'late night' or 'early morning' was to look at the time. Tomoyo liked this time. It was peaceful, the streets were empty, and she could walk and think. She had a lot to think about, and she needed this peace to help her bring all the chaotic thoughts into focus. For years, she had been a lone wolf and she didn't have a problem with it. Why now, did she feel so alone? And why was the feeling of loneliness so oppressive after the events of yesterday?

Despite the recent change in Kyou's attitude toward her, Tomoyo couldn't help feeling like an outsider at the Ichinose house. Sure, she was living under the same roof with Tomoya, Kyou, and Kotomi, but it didn't feel like she was really a part of them. No, she reconsidered her thoughts and decided that was too harsh. They had done nothing to shun her or distance themselves from her. It had been her decision not to go on the trip that Kotomi had arranged, after all. So, she was a part, just not an integral part… not an important part. In truth, she had felt closer to the Furukawa's in the short time she was with them than she did in all the time she had been at the Ichinose House.

The Furukawa's… Yukine had been right the other day when she proclaimed them the most loving family that she had ever met. Tomoyo felt that way too. Considering the fractured family she came from, the Furukawa family seemed like a fairy tale. An unattainable goal that they had somehow reached, and made it work for them. But not without suffering. Tomoya remembered the horrors of that night with Nagisa on the verge of death and how family and friends, herself included, pulled together to save her. Afterwards, Tomoyo found out that this had not been the only time Nagisa had been afflicted. But that couldn't be the only reason… it could not be the key for why their family was so close, and yet so open.

Her own family had its brush with death when her brother almost killed himself. His desperate actions had kept the family from dissolving at that time, but they still weren't close. The Sakagami family never had been very close and it was clear, at least to Tomoyo, that they never would be. With her own family, it seemed that you had to pry your way through each persons defenses just to get to know them. But the Furukawas exuded an inviting openness that welcomed you in so easily, to someone like Tomoyo it had felt like a trap.

To Tomoyo, it felt like it was all a lie or a deception that had been well practiced and performed to get you to open up so they could see you for who you really were. The previous day and night, Tomoyo had been prepared to be careful about letting her guard down too much. At first, she had been constantly vigilant around the Furukawas. What kinds of questions were they asking, how were they using conversation to find out about her, were they watching her… She had met them all before, had even been to their house overnight once, but that had been during the crisis. This was the first time she had been there in a relaxed environment and she had been anything but relaxed… at first.

In the end, her resolve had lasted less than three hours. After she had arrived, she had enjoyed some 'girl talk' with Nagisa and dinner with the family. After helping with the clean up, she had excused herself to the bathroom and spent several minutes alone with her reflection in the mirror. The confusion was intolerable. She still didn't know if they were trying to learn her secrets or if their openness was genuine, but she had learned something about herself. Tomoyo wanted to feel that closeness. She had never known that there was something missing in her life, and now she did. There was a craving, yearning part of her that could never be denied now. Also, there was an undeniable sadness that she had lived so long without feeling this way before. Part of her wished that she had never come here, and the other part rejoiced in the awakening of her heart.

The rest of her stay at the Furukawas, had been without defenses or pretense. She didn't try to match their openness, she just didn't try to hide her own feelings any more. If any of them had noticed a change in her, they didn't say anything.

 _That's just like them too._ Tomoyo thought as she looked at her reflection in the glass.

"Hey." Akio's voice startled Tomoyo.

 _How did he find me? Has he been following me? What does he want?_ Tomoyo looked to see if he was carrying another baseball bat but it looked like he was just smoking one of those awful cigarettes and leaning against the light pole.

"You okay?" Akio asked the unresponsive powder blond.

"Yeah, fine." Tomoyo asked, "I was just wondering why you're here."

"I always have a smoke before I start the morning baking." he answered as he nodded to the glass wall that Tomoyo had been using to look at her reflection. "Do you want to help out again?"

"Yes!" The answer leaped into her mouth even before the realization that the glass wall in front of her was the front of the bakery. She had been walking aimlessly, or so she had thought. Her unconscious mind and her feet had brought her here. The place where her heart had been awakened. The place part of her feared to come again lest she learn that her life was incomplete in more ways than she had already learned.

"Great!" Akio finished his cigarette and said, "Nagisa was up late last night talking to Ryou so it will just be you and me for a while if that's okay."

"Yes." Tomoyo couldn't believe how happy she was getting at being invited to participate with the Furukawas again, "Do you think I'll get a chance to make something with Sanae again?"

"Are you kidding?" Akio laughed, "After the success she had yesterday? I've already accepted that I'll be losing you to her as soon as she finds out that you're here."

"I didn't do that much." Tomoyo protested.

"Ha!" Akio laughed again, "Her concoction yesterday was the first time she has come up with something that sold on its own merit."

"The fist time?" Tomoyo asked with disbelief.

"The first time, ever." Akio emphasized the last word.

"Oh." Tomoyo didn't have the feeling that he was lying to her but it was hard to believe that Sanae had worked in a bakery for over a decade and had never made anything that would sell. Then again, she remembered the very surprised looks on the faces of Ryou and Nagisa when they had tried the sample that she had brought out to Kyou.

Even this was a lesson Tomoyo would learn from. As she worked the ovens and the baking prep with Akio, she thought about the Furukawa family and each of its members. Nagisa had health and confidence issues, Sanae worked in a bakery and couldn't make bread, and Akio… was Akio. Each of them was evidence that imperfect people could make a perfect family. Well, calling the Furukawa family 'perfect' may be a bit much but Tomoyo thought it was as perfect as she was ever likely to see.

"Tomoyo-chan?" Ryou's voice called out from the bakery entrance.

"Good morning, Ryou, Nagisa." Tomoyo called out to the two surprised girls. They were already in their aprons and ready to assist in the bakery, but hadn't expected to see Tomoyo again this morning.

"Ah!" Akio said as he came around the corner with a tray full of small loaves ready to go into the oven with the next batch. Addressing both Ryou and Nagisa, he said, "I'm glad you girls got here before your mother. When Sanae finds out Tomoyo-chan is here, she's gonna go nuts."

"Huh?" Tomoyo had been thinking about Akio's reference to Sanae as 'your mother' even though only one of the three girls present could call her that. Now he was saying she would go nuts and Tomoyo wondered if maybe he was about to ask her to leave.

"No kidding," Nagisa said, "she's never going to let you leave if she finds you here."

"They'll have to come up with a new word for the kind of crime she'll be guilty of." Akio thought about it and tried a few out, "Adopt-napping? Kid-dopting?"

"Akio-san!" Ryou said, "Stop it! You'll make Tomoyo-chan think there's something wrong with Okasan!"

"Fine," Akio took a serious stance and said, "But if Tomoyo-chan is going to be here, we are going to need some rules so nothing embarrassing happens. Rule number one…" Akio raised his hand and a single finger to emphasize this should be the first rule of embarrassment prevention, but inadvertently ended up pointing to the handle of the baseball bat that was still sticking out of the ceiling over his head.

"… don't try to attack Tomoyo-chan?" Ryou said as she followed his finger up to the bat.

"Huh?" Akio looked up to where Ryou and Nagisa were now looking and saw the lost bat too.

"So, I guess rule number two would be…" Ryou smirked.

"… don't even pretend to attack Tomoyo-chan." Nagisa could barely say it without laughing. Nagisa and Ryou did notice that both Akio and Tomoyo were blushing at all the attention to the reminder of what happened to Akio's favorite bat.

"Rule number three," Sanae's voice sounded happy and sweet as she called out from the bakery entrance, "let your mother and Tomoyo-sama have fun when they are creating in the kitchen."

"Sanae…" Tomoyo felt a wave of relief and joy at hearing Sanae's voice after the embarrassment of the first two rules. And… 'sama'! Such high praise from someone she respected so much. Tomoyo was motionless as Sanae walked to her and wrapped her in a welcoming hug. The surprise faded and a moment later Tomoyo was hugging the Furukawa matriarch back. She felt the acceptance and the love that her awakened heart had been longing for. Her eyes became damp as she realized an unavoidable truth: her place of residence was her families house and the place where she lived was the Ichinose House, but this was the place that felt like home.

"Alright girls," Akio was talking to Nagisa and Ryou, "let's get to work. Looks like rule number three is in effect."

.

 **Thursday, August 7 – walking to the Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

"Are you okay?" Yukine asked Youhei as they walked down the residential street, "Onii-san wasn't too rough with you, was he?"

"I'm okay," Youhei said as he rotated his right arm through the sore muscles. Youhei had told himself that he would hold back when her older brother, Kazuto had offered to spar with him. During the sparing, Youhei was holding back less and less until he was going all out, but he never landed a single blow on Kazuto. Ordinarily, it would have been supremely embarrassing to have been so soundly defeated, but the reaction from all of Kazuto's friends was astounding. They were honestly congratulating him on doing as well as he did. When he looked over at Yukine, she was beaming with pride. From all of their reactions, it would seem that Kazuto must be some kind of martial arts master. Still, he had to make Yukine feel better about her boyfriend and her brother fighting at what was supposed to be her birthday party. He told her, "Tomoyo-chan has hurt me a lot more than that."

"You're not still fighting with her are you?" Yukine asked.

"No no no!" Youhei insisted, "I'm all done with that."

"That's good." Yukine squeezed Youhei's hand as they walked along in silence for a minute. As they turned onto the street that would take them to the Furukawa Bakery, she smiled and told Youhei, "He approved of you."

"Really?" Youhei thought that he had done well but it had been hard to read Yukine's brother, "How could you tell?"

"You can still walk." Yukine told him.

"Eh?" Youhei was stunned. "You mean…" Yukine's nod confirmed what Youhei had suspected. He had been the only one sparring; Kazuto had been playing with him the way an adult plays with an infant. Youhei had never had a chance against Kazuto. He was certain of it now. If Yukine's brother had decided that Youhei was not worthy to be dating his sister, he could have broken Youhei at any moment. It wasn't that Youhei wasn't any good in a fight. He was already pretty good a few years ago when he took on the seniors on the soccer team. Now, after taking the karate lessons with the drama club, he had been getting even better. No, Youhei was pretty good in a fight, but Kazuto was just that much better.

"I wasn't worried," Yukine told him, "I knew you would be okay."

"How?"

"Oh… just intuition." Yukine smiled. She remembered the surprised look on her brother's face when she told him that she really liked Youhei. It was the first time she had ever told him of a boy she liked. As her older brother, he had been concerned, but he had been happy for her too.

.

 **Friday afternoon, August 8 – Ichinose House**

* * *

Kotomi was watching the forecast on the television in the living room as Tomoya and Kyou were putting the storm shutters over the windows. Tomoyo was in the kitchen on the phone. According to the latest projections, it didn't look as bad for them as had been predicted earlier. Typhoon Etau would skirt the west side of Japan but shouldn't pass directly over them. As a result, they might get a lot of rain, but would at least get a reprieve from the damaging winds. This was good news indeed, but there would be a lot of thunder, and that made her worry about Kyou and Ryou. Kotomi knew that Ryou didn't like thunder and Kyou would always keep her company whenever thunderstorms rolled in.

"Kotomi-chan." Tomoyo said.

"Tomoyo-chan?" Kotomi replied.

"I just got off the phone with the Furukawas." Tomoyo said, "We need to tell Kyou not to go to her parents house."

"Why?" Kotomi asked.

"The Fujibayashi's are still in Tokyo and won't be back until the storm is over. They would prefer if their daughters were not in the house alone. So, Ryou will be staying with the Furukawas during the storm."

"Did you talk to my parents?" Kyou asked stiffly, as she came into the room.

"No," Tomoyo answered, "I just got off the phone with Sanae. The Furukawas helped Ryou put the storm shutters up this morning, so your house is safe. I didn't ask for the details, but it sounded like Sanae had spoken with your mother."

"I see." Kyou didn't know whether she should be annoyed with Tomoyo for discussing her family, or glad that she had just alleviated several of her concerns. In the last several days, she had lost much of the animosity that she felt with the powder blond, but she still had moments when she had to close her mouth to avoid snapping out a comment she would regret later.

"I'm sorry if I overstepped..." Tomoyo could feel the tension too and realized she might have made a mistake. Since the morning of the whole apple pastries, she had been getting along better with Kyou. It felt like walking a tightrope though, and she always felt that she was just one slip-up from making a grievous error that would wreck everything.

"No no no!" Kyou waved Tomoyo's apology off. "I'm the one that should apologize. You were only trying to help and I… I should be a better person."

"Kotomi-chan, let's go upstairs and check the windows." Tomoya said to his girlfriend.

"But, Tomoya-kun," Kotomi still had the television remote in her hand but was watching Tomoyo and Kyou with wide eyes, "I want to watch this."

"Not this time," Tomoya said as he took Kotomi by the hand and pulled her out of the room.

"But… it is a chance to learn." Kotomi protested as she was led up the stairs by Tomoya.

"I will have to thank Tomoya for that, later." Tomoyo said.

"Me too." Kyou smiled, "Kotomi can be a handful but she means well. She is always looking out for the people around her… in her own way."

"I suppose the same could be said about you." Tomoyo offered.

"Yeah," Kyou chuckled, "I guess you could say I am a handful too."

"I meant that you are always looking out for the people around you… in your own way." Tomoyo corrected.

"Except for you." Kyou admitted sadly, "I don't know what is wrong with me but I really have a hard time with you."

"Oh?" Tomoyo hadn't prepared herself for a confrontation with Kyou, but she was ready if the lavender haired girl wanted to have it out now.

"I was always suspicious of you and I don't know why." Kyou looked down at her hands, "I thought of you as the enemy at first, and then as a rival."

"A rival?" Tomoyo was confused, "for what?"

"I'm not really sure." Kyou said, "You had everything that I lacked. Confidence, control… your grades are even better than mine."

"I should be the one hating you then." Tomoyo said to Kyou.

"Eh?" Kyou asked.

"Everything you say that I have is something you can attain if you just work for it." Tomoyo said, "On the other hand, you posses things I can never have."

"Huh?" Kyou was stumped. _What do I have?_

"You have a close relationship with your sister." Tomoyo felt the tears coming as she forced herself to confront the feelings that she had been denying, "You have family and friends that love you. You have Tomoya."

"Hey, whoa." Kyou could see the tears running down Tomoyo's cheeks. It was the first time she had ever seen Tomoyo look vulnerable, "What are you talking about? From what Ryou tells me, you got pretty close to Nagisa's parents, and besides, I don't have Tomoya – Kotomi does."

"Baka!" Tomoyo laughed through her tears, "You do have Tomoya… almost as much as Kotomi does. If you haven't realized that yet, you really are an idiot."

"Tomoyo…" Kyou started trembling when the conversation suddenly swung this way. She was going to deny it but she could tell that Tomoyo was sure of herself when she said it. She knew… maybe everyone knew. Kyou would have liked to be able to just keep quiet and keep it inside or be with Ryou right now, but she needed to talk… she needed someone to hear her out – acknowledge her feelings, even if they didn't agree with them. Her sister was always good for this, but Ryou wasn't here. She decided to confide in Tomoyo not because they were the best of friends or because they had just forged some kind of bond. It was a simple matter of expediency: Tomoyo was there and Kyou needed to talk now. "Tomoyo, I'm scared."

"Eh?" Tomoyo had not expected that from Kyou. Thoughts of her inability to communicate with her own family members were forgotten as she looked at the fidgeting lavender haired girl in front of her.

"Everything I do… everything I say," Kyou tried to find the right words to express how she felt, "I'm always worried that I'll screw up and ruin everything."

Tomoyo was stunned. She knew that Kyou had weaknesses, but she never thought Kyou would admit those weaknesses to her. For a moment, Tomoyo wondered how many of her own weaknesses were known to Kyou. She knew that a lot of people at the school thought she was without fear and without doubts. They thought of her as being as strong in spirit as she was in mind and body. But nobody is perfect. Tomoyo had plenty of fears and doubts. Since she was the Student Council President, she couldn't let everyone down so the tried not to talk about them, but they were there nonetheless. And they bothered her more than she would like. Perhaps they weighed on her more because she was the Student Council President, or because she had no-one to talk to. Tomoyo looked at the vulnerable Kyou again. She had just let down her guard to someone she thought of as a rival. Tomoyo wondered if Kyou could be trusted. Tomoyo hoped Kyou could be trusted. Tomoyo decided to take a chance.

"You feel…" Tomoyo closed her eyes and said, "you feel like everyone else knows what's going on, but you don't. Everyone else knows what to do and say, but you don't. You don't want to make everyone mad and you don't want to sound like an idiot, so you just keep quiet. On things that you're not sure about, you don't speak your mind, you just keep it bottled up inside and hope nobody notices."

"Um yeah," Kyou wondered how much Tomoyo had been watching her and started to feel like some of her suspicions might be valid after all. "You just described how I'm feeling, perfectly."

"No," Tomoyo half smiled at Kyou, "I just perfectly described how I feel."

"Eh?" Kyou gaped, "But you always look so confident."

"And I always thought you looked confident." Tomoyo said, "Well, you have looked confident ever since you got over that whole dictionary-to-the-face thing."

"I'm still not over that." Kyou looked down to the floor at Tomoyo's reminder of that terrible day, "At least, not completely over it."

"You never will be completely over it." Tomoyo raised Kyou's face with her hand and looked into her eyes, "It is a part of you now, and it will be there to remind you to think before you act, and that the unintended consequences of our actions can be devastating."

"Huh," Kyou heard the words and thought they were probably right, but she needed to jab Tomoyo, so she responded, "so, you're writing philosophy now?"

"I didn't write it." Tomoyo looked saddened by a memory, "I gave it to you just like someone gave it to me."

"Who..." Kyou started to ask but Tomoyo cut her off with the answer.

"A grief counselor." Tomoyo's pained expression was evident.

"Ah!" Kyou's hands went to her face as, once again, she felt that she had gone too far, "I'm sorry… I…"

"No," Tomoyo said, "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't want you to hear it."

"Thank you," Kyou said as she put her hand over Tomoyo's hand. She knew she did the right thing when she felt Tomoyo squeeze her hand in appreciation.

.

"Tomoya-kun." Kotomi started.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya replied.

"Why wouldn't you let me watch their interaction?" Kotomi was not mad at Tomoya for taking her away from such an excellent opportunity to observe real human interaction, but neither was she pleased.

"I've been thinking of how best to answer this," Tomoya said to his girlfriend, "and I think the best tactic is to relate it to something we covered in science recently."

"Oooh, impressive!" Kotomi cheered, "It would be even more impressive if you could reduce it to mathematics."

"Yeah," Tomoya smiled, "I'm not there yet."

"Go on!" Kotomi seemed excited now to see how Tomoya could relate something as unfathomable as human interaction to something as concrete as science.

"Do you remember how you were telling me about the difference between using a thermometer to observe the temperature of the ocean, and using the same thermometer to observe the temperature of a very small sample?"

"Yes!" Kotomi was always thrilled when Tomoya showed her that he could apply what he had learned.

"The observer will disturb the sample such that any reading will be invalid." Tomoya said, "Also, any reaction or interaction that was hoped for, may never take place because of the observer's interference."

"Very good!" Kotomi clapped her hand twice and suddenly stopped as she realized how she fit into Tomoya's comparison. "Oh no!"

"Don't worry," Tomoya knew that his genius girlfriend had figured out what he was alluding to. "We got out of there in time and you didn't say anything to derail them."

"Are you sure?" Kotomi looked at Tomoya with pleading eyes. "Do I need to apologize again?"

"Yes, I am sure." Tomoya smiled and pulled Kotomi into a hug, "And no, you don't need to apologize for anything this time."

"Oh thank goodness." Kotomi sighed, "Once again, thank you for taking care of me, Tomoya-kun." Tomoya could see that Kotomi was still depressed that her poor social skills had once again been a problem for her friends.

"Hmmm, it looks like you need a distraction." Tomoya raised Kotomi's face and kissed her on the lips. Kotomi responded to the kiss and pressed herself against Tomoya as the sounds of the heavy rain started to hit the roof.

.

 **Friday afternoon, August 8 – Furukawa residence**

* * *

The heavy rains had started at the Furukawa bakery as well. Just moments after the deluge started, Nagisa and Ryou heard loud banging coming from the metal shutters at the front of the store. At first, Akio thought the metal shutters were preventing some heavy object from being blown into the large windows by the high winds. Then he remembered that there were no high winds where they were and the banging sounds were repeating in a pattern.

The metal shutters opened to reveal three very soggy people. Nagisa and Ryou arrived with towels and were shocked to see who was there.

"Mei?" Sanae was the first one to call her out, "When did you get into town?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise," a drenched Mei said, "I was supposed to arrive hours ago but the trains were having difficulties."

"Did you know about this?" Akio asked Youhei. Akio was ready to scold Youhei for having his sister travel at a time like this.

"No, it was supposed to be a surprise for me too." Youhei said as he dried his hair with a towel Nagisa offered him, "I was on my way to Yukine's house when Mei called me."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Yukine said as she tried to get Youhei's phone to turn on, "but your house is closer to the train station than mine, and we already know that Mei can't stay at the dormitory with Youhei."

"Oh no," Akio cleared up the misunderstanding, "we're glad you're here."

"We were just concerned why you were out in such dangerous weather." Sanae said.

"May I use your phone to call my brother and let him know that we're here and safe?" Yukine asked, after giving up on the lifeless phone in her hand.

"Of course," Sanae said, "ordinarily I would suggest that you get out of the wet clothes and take a bath, but we don't know when we might lose power so it might be best if you just towel off and put on some dry clothes."

"Thank you very much." all three of the wet teens said.

Soon, Nagisa and Ryou had Mei in Nagisa's bedroom and were busy finding things that would fit her from some of Nagisa's clothes that she had outgrown but hadn't gotten rid of yet. With a smile, Ryou knew instantly why some of the shirts had been kept.

"Mei-chan," Ryou said quietly while Nagisa was distracted in the back of her closet, "if you wear this shirt with the Big Dango Family on it, Nagisa will be hugging you all night."

"Really?" Mei's eyes grew wide.

"Oh yes," Ryou assured the young teen.

Quick as a flash, Mei had put on the offered shirt and was standing innocently next to Ryou when Nagisa emerged from the closet with more clothes that might fit Mei.

"I can't believe I still have some of this… eh?" Nagisa stopped in mid sentence as her eyes fell on the dango shirt on the cute little girl. Ryou took the clothes that were in Nagisa's arms and smiled as her girlfriend became stupefied by the cuteness overload. Ryou could understand why Nagisa was so defensive of Fuko when she went into her starfish daydream. It seemed that Nagisa had her own weakness.

.

Sanae had taken Yukine into her bedroom since it looked like she might be able to wear the same sizes. She had guessed right and Yukine found that she could wear anything in Sanae's closet.

"Oh, Sanae-san…" Yukine said as she gazed into Sanae's closet, "You have such a wonderful selection of clothes here. We should go shopping together some time."

"Do you really think so?" Sanae did like to hear compliments that made her feel young.

"Yes," Yukine said, "It seems that you and I have a similar tastes."

"Well then, let's both wear something fun!" Sanae cheered.

.

Out in the living room, Youhei was wearing a Yukata that had been washed wrong and was now too small for Akio. That being said, it was still a little large on Youhei. Although Youhei was irked by that idea, he knew better than to be ungrateful. He and Akio sat across from each other at the table and could hear the giggling and laughing coming from both Nagisa's bedroom and Akio's.

"It sounds like they're all having fun." Youhei observed after a particularly boisterous bout of laughter.

"Girls trying on clothes? Yeah, they're having a ball." Akio asked, "Want some tea?"

"Sure." Youhei wasn't really thirsty, but it was something to do while they waited. Not long after he and Akio had some tea to sip, Nagisa, Ryou, and Mei came out of their room.

Nagisa and Ryou hadn't changed clothes but Mei was wearing a cute skirt and a shirt with the Big Dango Family on it. As soon as they got to the table, Nagisa pulled Mei into her lap and held onto her like she really was one of Nagisa's precious dangos. Mei seemed thrilled with the attention she was getting from Nagisa.

"Careful Mei-chan," Akio warned the young teen, "you might get Ryou-chan jealous like that."

"No no," Ryou smiled, "I'm too big to wear any of Nagisa's old dango clothes, but I really like to see her happy like this."

Just then, Sanae and and Yukine came into the living room in matching sun dresses. Sanae wore a pastel purple and Yukine wore a pastel pink. They each had their hair up in matching colored bows. Standing back to back and holding hands as they turned to the shocked table, Sanae asked, "Well guys, are we cute?"

Before anyone could answer, the lights went out and the two girls were now seen in silhouette.

The silhouettes were hard to see since there wasn't much back-light. Even though it was still afternoon, the storm made it dark outside and the storm shutters on all the windows eliminated most of that light too. Sanae and Akio were experienced at storm emergencies though, and their flashlights came on a moment later.

"I'll check the circuit box, but it's probably the whole neighborhood." Akio said as he got up from the table.

"I'll go with you." Youhei offered. He didn't know what to do, other than hold the light while Akio flipped the breakers, but it was better than waiting at the table.

"Here Mei-chan," Sanae said as she handed a box to the younger Sunohara sibling, "put one of these on and pass out the rest."

"Okay," Mei answered and opened the box to find it full of glow-sticks. "Oooooh!" she cried out as her glow stick lit up a brilliant blue.

By the time Youhei and Akio got back from the breaker box, the girls were lit up with glowing blue, green, yellow, and red glow sticks. Drinks and snacks were brought out and everyone was having a good time until the rains got heavier and the thunder started.

Fortunately, Nagisa already knew about Ryou's problem with thunder and did what she could to help her friend. When she heard the first rumblings of thunder, she told Mei what she wanted to do and the little girl immediately agreed.

"Ryou," Nagisa called out as Mei climbed out of her lap, "come over here."

"Um, okay." Ryou was glad to hear Nagisa call to her. She had heard the first rumblings and was already beginning to feel the shakes coming on. When she got over to Nagisa, she was pulled down onto the couch, leaning back into Nagisa's lap. "Eeep!"

"My turn!" Mei called out as she sat down and leaned into Ryou's lap. Ryou was now sandwiched between Nagisa behind her and little Mei in front of her. She was about to protest when a louder clap of thunder boomed outside.

"Eep!" Ryou closed her eyes and wrapped her arms and legs around Mei.

Mei found Ryou's hands and held onto them. "I've got you Ryou-chan!" Mei said happily.

"I've got you too." Nagisa said as she wrapped her arms and legs around Ryou.

Ryou really appreciated what they were doing for her. She was now sandwiched between Mai and Nagisa on the couch and surrounded by her friends. She still shook and squealed whenever the big boomers came, but she wasn't petrified with fear like she had been in the past.

.

 **Tuesday morning, August 12 – Okazaki residence**

* * *

The unoccupied house did not weather the storm well. The roof had long been in need of repairs and had not withstood the deluge of the previous Friday's storm. The weakened roof had been inundated with wave after wave of rain from the typhoon's spiral rainbands as they passed over Japan.

In the typhoon's very first rainband pass, a rotted rafter broke and the roof fell into the attic creating a scoop. The scoop would funnel all the future rainwater into the attic where it would saturate the ceilings and walls until they started to buckle and fall in as well. Since the house had been locked up, the rainwater was only able to leak out of the house through the unsealed front and back door. Although there was no-one there to see it, standing water was almost a half a meter deep inside the house at one point.

It wasn't until Sunday night that Tomoya heard anything about the damage to the property. A neighbor saw the fallen roof while looking at his own property and called the police when they couldn't get anyone to answer the door. The police were relieved to hear that the elder Okazaki had already moved out, but were concerned about the dilapidated condition of the place. Tomoya promised that he would look in on the property as soon as they had finished with the Ichinose House. He wasn't too concerned though. He didn't plan on moving back into that place, so it would be the responsibility of whoever owned the property.

The next day brought mixed news. Kobayashi-hakase called with the results of all the bills and notices that Kotomi had handed over to him. It turned out that Tomoya's father had not been renting the house after all. He had been buying it. Although the bank was on the verge of foreclosing on the property, it wouldn't take much to set things right. Tomoya considered letting the bank take the property back, but some notes from the friend of Kobayashi-hakase, who had looked into all the financial and legal issues, changed his mind.

Letting the property go back to the bank would damage his father's credit, but it was already in such poor shape that this was not much to consider in the decision making.

Okazaki Naoyuki had been paying on the property for some time and Tomoya never knew. From what Kobayashi-hakase's friend had been able to gather, there were only two years left on the note and the payments were not much. Of course, since the house had been damaged by the storm, there would be significant repair bills if they decided to keep the place.

The last thing to consider was the property valuation. Youhei and Yukine had pointed it out to Tomoya first, but the analyst that Kobayashi-hakase had asked to look into the property said the same thing. The town had grown since Naoyuki had originally decided to buy this place and the property was now worth several times more than it had been when he decided to buy it. Even if the house was completely destroyed, the property itself was worth quite a bit.

It was this last bit of information that made Tomoya decide to take a look at the house and see if it could be salvaged, or if it should just be razed to the ground. He had very little sentimental connection to the place now. At one time it had been a source of happy memories, but he had spent the last several years dreading his home, and those feelings were not so easily forgotten.

When Tomoya, Kotomi, and Kyou arrived, they didn't see much change from the front of the house. Tomoya had been told that the roof had fallen in, but that damage wasn't visible from the street. Whoever had opened the house up to make sure no-one was trapped in the cave-in had left the windows open. They had probably done that to help the place dry out, but the result was that the breeze carried with it the stench.

The stagnant water had leached the odors from the disintegrating ceiling and wall materials that had fallen into the rooms and hallways. Once again, Kotomi couldn't even get close to the front door due to the foul odor. She doubted she could be of much help until the house had been aired out and the standing water drained away. Tomoya hadn't realized that the smell would be this bad and he knew how this would bother Kotomi. As they stood at the gate, Youhei and Yukine approached.

"Kotomi-senpai?" Yukine called out. Before she got close enough to smell the reek of the house, she could see Kotomi breathing through a handkerchief and trying to be brave.

"Yukine-chan?" Kotomi replied. She knew it was too much to ask for, but she did hope that Yukine-chan would save her again.

"If you would be so kind," Yukine smiled, "I would like to trade responsibilities with you for a while."

"Oh?" Kotomi asked.

"I was supposed to help Nagisa-senpai and Ryou-senpai at the bakery today, but I would like to stay with Youhei and help out here. Do you think you could take my place at the Furukawa Bakery for a while?"

"Yes!" Kotomi eagerly accepted the opportunity to get away from this horrid stench. Then she realized she would be abandoning Tomoya and her high spirits suddenly turned to guilt. She was about to apologize when she felt Tomoya's hand on her shoulder.

"While you're at the bakery, see if Nagisa will make us some anpan. I think we would all like something sweet after we finish here."

"Yes, of course!" Kotomi's good mood was back. Given something to do, her guilt was gone and she was soon on her way to the bakery.

"Where is Tomoyo?" Kyou asked after Kotomi was gone.

"She is already at the bakery." Tomoya told her, "I'm sorry I didn't send you too. I know this place is awful."

"No, it's okay." Kyou smiled, "I'll be all right." Kyou didn't like the smell either but it didn't affect her nearly as much as it bothered Kotomi. When Tomoya opened the front door and they were all wafted with the stench of the place, Kyou had second thoughts. Looking around at her companions, she could see how they were also disturbed by the smell, but they entered the broken house anyway. Stiffening her resolve, Kyou followed them in.

Once inside, the stench was not as bad as she had feared. Since the house had been left opened up, it was no worse inside than it was at the front door. The four teenagers entered the house and soon found themselves stepping over piles of soggy ceiling and wall materials that had accumulated in the hallways as the water receded and ran out through the front and back doors.

"This looks pretty bad, but I don't know that much about how houses are made." Youhei kicked at some shattered ceiling material poking up above the remaining pools of water in the hallway.

"Do you think you could get that cleaning crew back here again?" Tomoya asked Youhei and Yukine.

"This is more than cleaning…" Yukine said as she tried to come up with an idea.

"Maybe it would be best to just bulldoze it after all." Youhei said while looking between bare studs where an interior wall used to be.

"Tomoya-senpai," Yukine looked as if she had thought of something, "may I borrow your phone?"

"Sure." Tomoya handed his phone over to Yukine but gave a questioning look at Youhei.

"Our phones died when we got caught in the rains the other day," Youhei looked disgusted, "and death by water damage isn't covered under the warranty."

"Ouch." Tomoya commented. He wandered farther back into the house and got to the place where the roof had caved in. From the hallway, he could see the blue sky through the gaping hole in the ceiling and roof.

"Tomoya-senpai?" Yukine was still holding his phone but looking out of the same hole in the roof, at the sky above.

"Yukine-chan?" Tomoya responded automatically.

"My brother has many… friends." Yukine said, "One of his friends has a grandfather that is retired from the home repair trades. Although he may not be able to do the work, he can tell you what it would take to salvage this place."

"That's great Yukine," Tomoya smiled, then added, "but I'm pretty sure we're going to need to get a bunch of cleanup done just to satisfy the safety complaint."

"If you would like," Yukine offered, "I could ask my brother's friends to see if any of them would do the work. None of them have any real experience in home repairs but as long as the grandfather is guiding them, they should be able to do it."

"You're amazing Yukine-chan." Tomoya complimented the blue eyed girl, "You always know where to find the right people."

"Hey!" Youhei moved to stand between Yukine and Tomoya, "This one is mine."

"Eh?" Tomoya took a step back and almost ran into Kyou.

"You know what I mean." Youhei smirked, "You've already got Kotomi and Kyou. You can't have Yukine too."

"What?" Tomoya wondered if Youhei was going crazy.

"Yukine-chan?" Kyou asked as she took Tomoya's arm and held him close, "Is he trying to use the Okazaki charm on you?"

"Hey!" Tomoya was not used to being the subject of the joke and was looking for a way out.

"I believe the Okazaki charm is a naturally occurring phenomenon." Yukine said thoughtfully, "It doesn't look like he realizes that he is doing it."

"True," Kyou agreed, "If he ever did try to be charming, it would probably be less effective."

"Hey!" Tomoya objected as he looked down at the smiling Kyou.

"Or comical…" Yukine suggested, "like Youhei."

"HEY!" both Youhei and Tomoya cried out in mock indignation.

.

 **Thursday afternoon, August 12 – walking to the Okazaki house**

* * *

"Iwa," the old man said to the tough looking younger man walking next to him. Their difference in age was so vast, it was hard to tell that the old man and the young tough carrying the large crowbar were related. The other dozen tough looking men carrying hammers, crowbars, and shovels were not related, but they were all members of Miyazawa Kazuto's gang.

"Yes, Ojiisan?" Iwa answered his grandfather.

"Did you notice the police?" Ojiisan asked in a quiet voice. He had already spotted three police officers without even looking around.

"Yes, Ojiisan." Iwa answered tersely. He was afraid he was about to get a scolding from his grandfather for his involvement in Kazuto's gang, but he had misread the old man.

"Good," the grandfather said, "being aware of your surroundings is as important in the construction business as it is when you are walking the streets with your gang." The old man laughed at his grandson's astonishment, "I wasn't always old, you know."

"Yes, Ojiisan." Iwa had a new respect for the old man, "What should we do? They have us surrounded."

"Watch and learn." the old man winked, then called out as loud as he could, "You there! Policeman! Come over here and talk to me! It is about time that you do something useful rather than sulk in the shadows and follow me around town." The gang members were surprised at the old man's brazen summons to the policeman. Ojiisan had pointed vaguely up the street as he issued his challenge and one of the officers stepped out from behind a produce cart and waited for the old man and his entourage to draw near.

"What are you..." the policeman started to ask as he raised his hand for them to stop, but Ojiisan interrupted him.

"Put your hand down and walk with us. There is no time for the usual banter." Ojiisan sounded very gruff and businesslike. He also spoke with some authority as if he were used to being obeyed.

The policeman lowered his arm and walked beside the old man still trying to figure out how this old man fit into this group of thugs.

"Here," Ojiisan handed over the handwritten directions that Yukine had given him, "We are going to this house on this street here. When we get there, these men will begin ripping out the walls and ceilings that are damaged."

"Damaged?" the policeman asked.

"From the flood waters." Ojiisan explained, "if we do not deal with it quickly, it will be a breeding ground for vermin, diseases, and molds."

For a moment, the policeman though that he was being asked for permission, but that illusion was soon shattered as the old man put him to work.

"You are a policeman." Ojiisan stated as if lecturing a young student, "Your job is to serve the public good, is it not?"

"Yes…" the policeman hesitated a little in the face of such confident authority.

"Good," Ojiisan pointed up the street they had just turned onto, "I suspect that this may not be the only structure that has suffered flooding. You and your men will need to knock on doors, ask neighbors, look over fences – do whatever you need to do, to find the damage. When you find it, you should tell the owners that they should take care of it quickly. You must act before the situation gets out of hand. They do not have to come to me. They can call anyone they like, but if they want me to take a look at the damage, I will be here at this house for the rest of the day."

"I don't think it's the police's job to..." the policeman was starting to argue.

"Oh," Ojiisan snarled, "so you are the type that waits until rats are running in the streets and there is an outbreak of malaria before you take action? Well, that's fine with me. I have a small place in the hills where I can stay for a bit, while this down suffers through vermin and disease. It's your job on the line, not mine."

"Eh?" the policeman did not miss the insinuation. If he took no action and something were to happen – he would be responsible. He watched as the toughs walked past him and into the Okazaki house. He could smell the fetid stench of the place from the street. Moments later, he saw several toughs carrying a load of debris out and dropping it in a large metal waste collection bin. The damage alone might have convinced the young officer, but the stench… It didn't take long for him to decide that everything the old man had said was valid.

Thirty minutes later, there were police officers canvasing the neighborhood for signs of damaged property. An hour later, the first of several hopeful people knocked on the door of the Okazaki house to speak with the old man.

.

 **Friday evening, August 15 – Shrine Park**

* * *

It seemed that everyone had taken advantage of the discount that had been offered at the shop that had made the wedding Yukatas. There had been some suggestion that they could wear the wedding Yukatas to the Obon festival, but Tomoyo and Yukine had insisted that there wouldn't be a chance to fix anything in time for the wedding, which was only two days after the festival.

Kotomi and Kyou arrived in matching Yukatas of maroon with gold outlines of butterflies. Kotomi was beaming, but Kyou was blushing and seemed embarrassed. Yukine showed up in a dark green Yukata with silver patterns of stars and moons. Mei wore a festive Yukata of bright yellow and green with images of colorful birds in flight.

"Kyou-senpai?" Yukine asked the blushing girl, "is something wrong?"

"No… well… this Yukata," Kyou said quietly, "I wanted to wear bright colors, but Kotomi…"

"Yes, I see." Yukine remembered Kotomi's explanation for the different colors of the Yukatas and guessed the meaning of this selection, "It is lovely how you two match Tomoya-senpai though."

"Huh?" Kyou turned to see Tomoya wearing a dark blue Yukata with a maroon obi that matched the maroon of Kotomi and Kyou's Yukatas. If anything, this made Kyou's blush deepen.

"I thought of wearing a bright color too," Yukine told her senpai, "but I saw the dark green and thought it would go well with my eyes and… I realized I liked the meaning."

"The meaning?" Mei asked.

Kyou looked at Yukine's Yukata and tried to figure out what the silver stars and moons might mean.

"A bright Yukata tells of youth, but also of availability. Being a subdued color, my Yukata says that I am taken." Yukine told Mei, "I am not available for flirting or dating someone else. There is someone I like and that someone likes me back. We are in a relationship and I am happy with that."

"Oh yeah… that meaning." Kyou now remembered Kotomi's explanation from the other day as well.

"Oh my! I never knew that about the colors." Mei looked at her own Yukata in a different light now.

Yukine and Kyou watched as Mei excitedly ran off to greet Nagisa, Ryou, and the Furukawas who had all just arrived.

"There is so much love between the three of you." Yukine observed. "It is fascinating and wonderful to see all of you in love with each other."

"Eh?" Kyou gaped. She hadn't realized that their relationship had been so transparent.

"It is plain to see… for those who know how to look for it." Yukine was concerned about the look of doubt that always haunted Kyou's appearance of happiness. She asked her lavender haired senior, "Kyou-senpai, are you happy?"

"A part of me is." Kyou said, "But another part of me is scared because this is so weird. I never thought anything like this would happen to me. I don't know whether it is good or bad."

"Did you ever think that you would hit Tomoya's face with a dictionary?" Yukine asked without malice.

"No!" Kyou cringed at the terrible memory that Yukine had just disturbed.

"You could have enjoyed hurting him, but you didn't." Yukine pressed on, "The whole thing was awful, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was awful." Kyou agreed. She wanted to scream at Yukine, _How could I possibly have enjoyed that? Why are you reminding me of such a terrible thing now?_

"Both of those things were not anticipated. You didn't think either of them would ever happen to you, but they did." Yukine explained, "One of them made you sad because deep inside it was something that you never wanted. The other makes you happy. What do you suppose that says about how you feel… deep inside?"

 _Deep inside?_ Kyou didn't have to wonder too much about her feelings on that. Now that Yukine had phrased the question, it helped Kyou to put her concerns together with the thoughts she had been meditating on for the last several weeks. Kyou knew how she felt deep inside. This arrangement… this feeling… was something wonderful. Every morning she woke up with Tomoya and Kotomi and she felt euphoric. Whenever they were all together, Kyou felt a comfortable calm that filled her completely. They both loved her. They had told her so, in no uncertain terms. At first she was afraid to accept that, but she did now. Kyou knew that she loved them both too. As Kotomi had said in her own confession, Kyou didn't know exactly what form that love was… if asked, she would be hard pressed to define it. Before Yukine had asked her question, Kyou had always chased the feeling of comfortable calm with worry. _What is this exactly? How do I define my position in this relationship? But maybe it is something that doesn't need to be defined. Maybe it is simply enough 'to be'._ Kyou smiled as she realized she could accept her happiness now without exactness, without definition, and without worry.

"Hmpf." Kyou looked at Yukine with an arched eyebrow, "Which one of us is the senpai now?" Both girls shared a laugh until Yukine pointed out that Tomoya, Kotomi, and Youhei approaching.

Tomoya handed a candied apple over to Kyou and Youhei handed one to Yukine.

"Ah, Tomoya-senpai, Kotomi-senpai," Yukine called out to them, "you look very nice."

"Thank you," Kotomi replied, "you look very pretty in your Yukata. Green is a very good color on you." Tomoya nodded in agreement.

"Thank you." Yukine smiled, "I have news on the Okazaki house, if you'd like."

"Yes, please." Tomoya said, "I meant to drop by yesterday but we've been so busy."

"I'm not surprised," Youhei chuckled, "you have the festival and your wedding to prepare for. But don't worry, Yukine has some good news for you."

"The cleanup is complete and the roof is fixed now." Yukine said.

"Already?" Tomoya gasped, "That was a lot faster than we had thought."

"It turned out that the damage to the rafters was not as bad as Ojiisan had feared." Yukine explained, "There is some electrical work that still needs to be done, and they haven't begun installing the ceilings and the walls yet, but it is a start."

"Have there been any problems?" Tomoya asked.

"Not really." Yukine seemed hesitant.

"Not really?" Tomoya sounded concerned.

"Just a police misunderstanding." Youhei laughed, "When they saw Kazuto's gang heading down the street with crowbars, hammers, and shovels, they called for reinforcements."

"I hope nobody got hurt." Kotomi said.

"No no," Youhei smiled, "Ojiisan straightened it all out. He even smoothed things over with some concerned neighbors. In fact, Ojiisan and the gang may have some work from the local businesses and houses that also suffered some flood damage." Youhei talked for a while about the adventures of Ojiisan, the toughs, and the police.

The conversation was mixed with laughter as their group wandered the bazaar of games and food stands that were set up for the event.

.

Kyou would remember the earlier conversation with Yukine throughout the night. She had originally planned on walking near or behind Tomoya and Kotomi as they navigated the festival, but Yukine had helped her change her mind. Kotomi was holding Tomoya's right hand so she took his left arm and leaned into him a little. Kyou thought she was going to have to explain herself, but was surprised when Tomoya simply smiled at her and held her hand as well.

Youhei was also holding the hands of two girls as they stood to watch the fireworks. Yukine held onto one hand and his sister, Mei had the other. Youhei had been concerned that his sister might be a bit jealous, but that did not seem to be a problem. Mei got along as well with Yukine as she did with Nagisa and Ryou. Thinking of those two, Youhei looked around and spotted the two wearing complementary Yukatas and holding hands. Near Nagisa and Ryou, Tomoyo was with the elder Furukawas.

All of the third years had the same thought as they watched the spectacular show of fireworks. This would be the last summer break of their high school years. After this year is over, they would be going their separate ways. Jobs and colleges would be splitting them up in different directions and sending them all over the world. They had all become so special to each other since the beginning of this school year. It was such a short time when they thought about it… and soon it would be over.

The fireworks were spectacular. The Yukatas were beautiful. The friendships were genuine. That such sadness had to be woven into all these perceptions was undesirable, and yet inevitable.


	23. Chapter 23 - The Wedding

**Sunday morning, August 17 – High School Auditorium**

* * *

The Sunday after the Obon festival started off warm and got unmercifully hot. Fortunately for the wedding party and guests, Koumura Toshio had anticipated a hot summer afternoon, and had already requested the maintenance staff turn on the air conditioners for the auditorium. Many of the wedding party had arrived at the high school auditorium hours before the first guests and they were much appreciative of the cool air that greeted them.

The few birds in the sky of that hot Sunday morning would have seen Tomoya and Youhei walking the familiar path to school. Instead of the traditional summer or winter uniforms, they wore only shorts and t-shirts in an effort to stay cool. The two young men walked slowly towards the high school that they had known for the last two and a half years. There was plenty of time. They had already taken care of all of the setup the night before and, contrary to several years of procrastination and forgetfulness, they left early enough to be sure that there would be no rush. The taller of the two stopped as they passed underneath some high tension power lines that intersected their path.

"Huh?" Youhei noticed that Tomoya had stopped and looked back to see if there was a problem. He saw that Tomoya was standing still as he looked up at the power lines that passed overhead. "What's up?"

"Nothing really," Tomoya let his eyes follow the power lines as they passed from tower to tower into the distance. They seemed to disappear into the haze made by the waves of heat already radiating up from the buildings and streets of the city.

"Nothing?" Youhei knew Tomoya wouldn't stop for 'nothing' so there might not be anything bothering him but that meant there had to be something on his mind.

"Well," Tomoya looked at how the power lines were connected to the nearest tower and said, "I was just wondering how my life might have turned out if I had made other choices."

"Hmm… heavy stuff." Youhei rubbed his chin trying to mimic a sage, "You're not out of high school yet and you're already getting married. Don't you think you're doing enough heavy stuff for one day?"

"Baka! But, I guess you're right." Tomoya laughed and started walking again. He was still thinking about it though. He remembered meeting Winter Tomoya, and that made him realize just how vastly a life can change from even the smallest of choices. Winter Tomoya himself may have been a product of his world's bizarre climate change, but he told of so many other Tomoya's that he had met that were from worlds incredibly similar to this one. Incredibly similar, and yet it seemed that no two Tomoya's had shared the same story. Many of them had no romantic life at all. Some of those did not even have Youhei as a friend. They seemed to be the most bitter of the Tomoya's. Others were friends with a lot of girls and one or two guys, but only friends. Others did have romantic involvements though; Winter Tomoya had met other Tomoya's that were dating just about every one he knew. Aside from Kotomi, Winter Tomoya had said that Nagisa, Kyou, Ryou, Tomoyo, Yukine, and even Rie from the choir club had been some of the reported girlfriends, but that wasn't all. He had also heard of Tomoya's that were romantically involved with Youhei's dorm mother Sagara Misae, the ikiryo girl – Ibuki Fuko, and even Youhei himself! By far, most of the Tomoya's that were dating – or at least close to someone, were involved with Nagisa, Kyou, and Tomoyo. Interestingly, Kotomi was not in the top three. Actually, she wasn't in the top four either. There were more Tomoya's going out with Fujibayashi Ryou than with Kotomi.

That worried Tomoya. _Why are so few of the parallel Tomoya's going out with Kotomi? Am I doing something wrong?_

"Hey," Youhei interrupted Tomoya's doubts, "who is helping Kotomi get ready?"

"Kyou was helping her out this morning." Tomoya said, "Now that they're at the school, I guess she is getting help from all the girls."

"Probably." Youhei laughed, "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Huh?" Tomoya wondered what deranged idea had just popped into Youhei's head.

"I don't think anyone would have thought that Kotomi and Kyou would ever be close friends." Youhei idly kicked a rock ahead of him as he continued to walk up the familiar path. "And yet…"

"I wonder how they are doing now?" Tomoya knew the girls had a lot more involvement with the preparations than the guys did and he was thankful for that. At the same time, neither Kotomi nor Kyou did well when they were heavily stressed.

"I'm sure they're fine." Youhei said confidently, "By now, Yukine, Tomoyo, and Sanae will be there to help and they are pretty levelheaded."

"Yeah…" Tomoya realized Youhei was right, "Thanks."

.

Since early this morning when they woke up, Kyou had been with Kotomi every step of the way. Kyou and Kotomi had helped each other bathe and do their hair. They helped each other dress and get ready for the big day. Kyou knew that Kotomi was nervous and was there to comfort her. Kyou was nervous too; right up until the last minute she didn't know if she could be the maid of honor for her best friend to marry the man that they both loved. But the alternative... to abandon her friends would be… unthinkable.

Kotomi felt many emotions vying over her overtaxed consciousness. She knew that she would have become catatonic if it had not been for Kyou-chan's presence. Fear, joy, anticipation, guilt, elation, depression, and exhaustion warred for her available mental synapses. Besides having to deal with her own internal struggles, she knew something was bothering Kyou-chan and she wished she could say the right thing to make Kyou-chan feel better. All she could think to do, was to keep Kyou-chan close and hold onto her as much as possible. There was something that needed to be said though. It was something that Kotomi had been working up the courage to say to Kyou-chan for quite some time now. As they sat in the dressing room to the side of the auditorium's stage, Kotomi knew that she had to say it now, before it was too late.

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi started.

"Kotomi-chan?" Kyou responded automatically.

"I… I have to tell you something." Kotomi fought for the courage to go on, "And… I have to ask you something. Will you hear me out?"

 _Will you hear me out? Oh gods, Kotomi! What are you doing right before your wedding?_ Kyou was worried about what Kotomi would say now. Her worst fears were that Kotomi would tell Kyou that she would be unnecessary after the wedding. But Kotomi was unpredictable and this could be anything.

"Yes," Kyou steeled herself for whatever Kotomi was about to say, "I will hear you out."

"I am sorry for having relied on you so much." Kotomi held Kyou's hands but couldn't look her in the eyes. "I know I have been a burden to you. I…"

"No!" Kyou interrupted. She knew that Kotomi had more to say but she could not let her friend continue with this misunderstanding.

"Eh?" A startled Kotomi looked up and into Kyou-chan's eyes at the suddenness of the rebuke. At first, Kotomi was afraid that her friend was mad at her, but Kyou-chan's eyes were full of concern.

"Don't ever think that you are a burden to me. I know you have relied on me, but I have relied on you too. That is not a burden, that is what friends do for each other." No matter how heavy it weighed on her heart… that Kotomi had claimed the man she loved, Kyou would never think of Kotomi as a burden.

"Thank you very much, Kyou-chan!" Kotomi bit her lower lip and pressed on, "So now… now I must ask you…" Kotomi took a deep breath and said the words that she had practiced, "If anything should ever happen to me… promise me that you will be there for Tomoya-kun."

"What?" Kyou was taken aback by this sudden request, "Kotomi-chan, what do you think is going to happen to you?"

"I don't know," Kotomi seemed on the verge of panic, "Just promise me, please!"

"But…" Kyou was going to try to reassure her friend that she was worrying needlessly, but perhaps it wasn't so needless after all. Kyou remembered the story of how Kotomi had lost her parents in a single tragic accident.

"Just promise me!" Kotomi shouted as she desperately clutched the sleeve of Kyou-chan's Yukata.

"I promise!" Kyou tried to calm her friend. She had not seen Kotomi this worked up since the bus accident, when they had thought Ryou had been injured. Kotomi had suffered a complete meltdown back then, and Kyou was concerned for the suddenly emotional girl.

"And if… if I have children… you will be a mother to them. You will love them. You won't let them grow up alone! Can you do that?" Kotomi wasn't sobbing, but the tears were running down her face as she begged her startled friend. "Please promise me you will do that!"

"Oh Kotomi-chan," Kyou pulled her purple haired friend into a hug. She now felt certain that she knew where this fear was coming from. Kotomi had been alone for years after the airplane accident had claimed both of her parents. But Kyou worried about her own suitability to be a mother. As she held Kotomi close, she asked, "You would… you would trust me with your children?"

"Yes," Kotomi returned the embrace, "I have already told you that, have I not?"

"Oh… yeah." Kyou remembered the conversation that seemed ages ago. She remembered Kotomi's words, _protector, guardian, defender, bodyguard..._

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi said with trembling voice, "I know you said I wasn't a burden, but I know that what I am asking is a lot. You see… you are the only one… _the only one_ I trust to do this. If I know that you will be there if something happens to me... it will give me the courage that I need."

"Courage?" Kyou asked.

"Without you," Kotomi explained, "I don't have the courage to go out there. I don't have the courage to get married… or make a family with Tomoya-kun… or even to pursue my dream. I just… can't… do this without you." Kotomi buried her face in Kyou's shoulder as she clutched Kyou's matching golden Yukata.

Kyou was stunned. She knew that Kotomi liked having her around, but this… _What if I say no?_ Kyou pondered that possibility. _If I say no, she won't marry Tomoya and I can have him! NO! I could never do that to Kotomi or Tomoya and besides… things never work out that way._

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi prompted.

"Yes," Kyou smiled a challenge at her friend, "I'll do it, but I won't be a maid or a nanny. If something happens to you… if I'm going to take care of your children… if I'm going to be their mother, then I'm going to marry Tomoya. You got that?"

"Yes!" Kotomi said with a little surprise at Kyou-chan's sudden change in attitude.

"So, if you don't want me marrying your husband, you better make sure nothing happens to you." Kyou said with a smirk, "Deal?"

"Yes!" Kotomi smiled. "It's a deal!" Kotomi was rejoicing inside. This had gone much better than she had expected. To her, it seemed that Kyou-chan already understood exactly what Kotomi wanted.

.

Kobayashi Jun could not have been more satisfied, or more proud than when he was told of the wedding arrangements. He knew that Kotomi wanted a traditional Japanese wedding… or at least the appearance of one. When she found out how many of the things she wanted in her wedding were actually Western elements, she looked like she might cry. Two things that she had insisted on, from the very beginning, was that Kobayashi Jun should be the father of the bride and Fujibayashi Kyou should be her Maid-of-Honor. It would be Kobayashi-hakase that gives Kotomi's hand to her beloved Tomoya. And it must be Kyou-chan that stands beside her when she makes her vows. Nothing would have made Kobayashi Jun happier.

The Shinto priest was a kind man and told her that many weddings now days were mixtures of Shinto and Western influences and that she should arrange the ceremony in whatever way would make her happy. Kotomi's dream came true for her that day, and one of Kobayashi Jun's dreams came true as well.

Jun had long been good friends of Kotomi's departed parents, and he had vowed to see to it that their daughter had a happy and healthy life. Until recently, he had considered himself a failure in executing the first half of that vow. But now, with the help of Okazaki Tomoya, Fujibayashi Kyou, and a few others, things were different. Kotomi was different. For the first time since she was a little girl, she was smiling and she was happy. There was more to it than that though. She had always been shy around new people and had never been particularly social, but her friends had helped her overcome her fears.

Friends… Yet another favorable difference that Kobayashi Jun had observed.

She had friends now. This was an unbelievable achievement that he had hoped and prayed for, but never expected. After so many years of solitude, she had not one, but several friends, and they were good friends too. The kind of friends that stayed by her side when things looked difficult and the kind of people that she was able to trust. Before this school year, Jun was aware that she had been a bit of a recluse. Kotomi never ventured out of her house except to go to school, and at the school, she had sequestered herself in the library. Even her food and incidentals were delivered to her house. Now, she went shopping, she went on trips, she had even attended the seminar in Hokkaido. Only Kobayashi Jun knew what an astounding accomplishment that was. And Jun also knew who was to be thanked for helping him redeem himself for his failure at the vow that he had made. Helping them with their futures was the least he could do. He felt a debt to them that he knew he could never fully repay.

The first tones of the wedding march momentarily distracted him from his musings. Reflecting on everything that had happened since the beginning of this day brought a smile to his face. The colorful attire, the majesty of the ceremony, the emotion of the moment… of the day. This was a day that should never be forgotten.

The ceremony itself seemed to fly by so quickly. One moment, Kotomi was standing before him, resplendent in her gold Yukata. The next moment he was seated in the front row on the bride's side of the aisle, and his part was over. He shared the bride's honored seats with with the Furukawa's, Sakagami Tomoyo, and Kyou's twin sister Ryou. Both of the Furukawa women and Fujibayashi Ryou wore the rich gold Yukatas that matched the color and patterns of the Yukatas worn by Kotomi and Kyou. Tomoyo-chan was in a Yukata with the bright yellow coloration of an unattached young lady. There were others there as well. He had been introduced to them but he had a hard time remembering their names. He knew that they were in the school's Drama Club that Kotomi had joined. These girls were also wearing bright yellow Yukatas like Tomoyo-chan's.

Looking over at the grooms side of the aisle, Jun recognized Tomoya's father. Okazaki Naoyuki was looking better than the last time Jun had seen him. Well, he was at least looking sober. The older woman with him would almost certainly be Tomoya's grandmother. Next to them were Sunohara-san's girlfriend and his younger sister, the Yoshinos', a few young men from the Drama Club, and Koumura Toshio.

Jun knew that he owed that man a lot too. If it hadn't been for Koumura-san's supportive comments of Tomoya-kun, Kobayashi Jun would never have given the young man the chance. Instead, Tomoya-kun had flourished under Kotomi's tutelage, and a little bit of Kobayashi's guidance. In such a short time, he had emerged from his delinquent and self-destructive shell, and he had become every bit the man that Koumura Toshio said he could be.

All of these splendid people had been very important in the awakening of both Kotomi-chan and Tomoya-kun. It would be hard to imagine the two of them achieving so much without this colorful cast of amazing friends. As impressive as this assemblage of friends was, they were far from the only ones in the auditorium. Behind that front row of friends and relatives clad in dark blue, majestic gold, and vibrant yellow Yukatas, were dozens of seats filled with students and teachers. The Karate club was well represented, as was the basketball team, the disciplinary committee, and the student council. Several students from Kotomi's class were there. There were also some students from Kyou's class and Nagisa's class too. The real surprise was that all of Tomoya's class had come. Suzuki-san, as the class representative, had access to every students contact information and he used that access to make sure that everyone would be there. Even if they were not all the closest of friends, they came to pay their respect and wish the best of luck to the happy couple.

Respect… Kobayashi Jun decided that respect was the best metric to judge just how far Tomoya had come in less than half a year. From a despised delinquent to gaining the respect of his entire class was quite a feat. As Koumura had predicted, Okazaki-san was capable of being a very impressive young man.

Tomoya hadn't been the only one to grow in that time. Sunohara had gone through his own awakening. His evolution had mostly been the results of Miyazawa Yukine, but Tomoyo and Kyou had contributed to his redevelopment into a responsible and reliable person as well. Not too long ago, there had been a time when Youhei had been presented a choice of paths to take. One path seemed like it would be more fun and the other would require him to change. Initially, he considered the fun path. If it hadn't been for the example of Tomoya's happiness right in front of him, the lure of Yukine, and the threats of Tomoyo and Kyou, he would never have taken, much less considered the path that would require change, and reliability. But he did, and so far he had no regrets. Okazaki and Sunohara had been best friends for their whole high school experience and now, Youhei would stand by Tomoya on this momentous occasion. Today, Okazaki Tomoya would make the most solemn pledge of his life, with Youhei at his side.

Looking up on the raised platform in front of the portable Shinto shrine, Kobayashi Jun took in the view and concentrated to burn the image forever into his memory. Sunohara Youhei stood next to Okazaki Tomoya as the best man. The two of them were wearing the black and dark blue Yukatas that Kotomi had selected. Unlike the similar Yukatas that all the other men in the wedding party wore, theirs had fine gold tracings at the cuffs that ran up the sleeves. Tomoya's also had gold tracings that ran around the hem and up the front. The two of them looked noble and showed a confidence that their peers would not have believed of either of them only a half a year ago.

On the other side of the Shinto priest, Fujibayashi Kyou stood proudly next to Kotomi-chan in their matching gold Yukatas. Against all odds, they had become good and dear friends. Their unexpected friendship had its own fascinating twists and turns. Jun knew that in some respects, Kyou recognized that Kotomi was looking after her like a big sister. Kyou had always been the big sister in her relationship with her twin, Ryou – but it appeared that she found it reassuring to have a big sister of her own out there, always looking out for her. At the same time, Kotomi needed Kyou's strength in conquering her own anxieties and social inadequacies. Those were the times Kyou would feel like she was back in her comfortable role as the onee-chan. It was this role she felt that she was fulfilling today.

.

"Kyou-chan?" Kobayashi Jun called out to the girl in the gold yukata with the long lavender hair. For quite some time, she had been surrounded by a sea of her admiring schoolmates asking questions and getting pictures of her in her Yukata. She had separated herself from Tomoya and Kotomi for the moment to spread the crowd out. Aside from Tomoya, Kotomi also had Ryou and Nagisa with her for support so she was able to handle this many people without having a panic attack.

"Kobayashi-hakase." Kyou had come to know this man fairly well over the last several weeks, but she used the significant honorific to let the throng know that he wasn't just somebody's dad. The trick worked. As expected, the riotous conversation settled down to a whisper and students parted to let Kotomi escape for a private conversation with such an esteemed gentleman. As she approached him, he offered his arm and had her walk with him to a less crowded area where they could talk in relative quiet.

"I am impressed with you, Kyou-chan." Jun said quietly, "but Kotomi is more than impressed. She needs you in a way that I doubt you fully understand."

"Thank you, hakase, but I think I understand some of it." Kyou didn't reject the compliment. If it had been anyone else, she would have dismissed it, but… _hakase_!

"Before Tomoya re-entered her life, she was a heartbeat away from being a shut-in." Jun explained, "He helped her interact with a number of people, but the one that she found commonality with, the one that she could trust, the one that gave her the courage to experience the outside world, was you."

"No…" Kyou could not accept this, "I think Tomoya is the one that should get that praise."

"Let's say it was a team effort." Jun smiled, "Honestly… I never thought she would make it this far. I have been very worried for her… for a long time."

"Hakase?" Kyou had never seen him this emotional before and was shocked that he would reveal such strong feelings to her now.

"You do realize how much she needs you, don't you?" Jun asked.

"Yes… well," Kyou paused, "she told me that she needs me but… it's still so hard to believe."

"It's true," Jun said, "she is amazingly aware of her own shortcomings and weaknesses. But… there is something else I need to talk to you about."

"Yes?" Kyou prompted.

"I am aware that the three of you are close." Jun said, "Kotomi is happiest when both of you are near. If she had to be separated from one of you for even a week, she would be unhappy. If it were more than a week, I daresay she would be miserable."

"Yeah," Kyou could easily imagine that.

"Needless to say," Jun told Kyou, "unless Kotomi progresses quite a bit between now and the end of the year, you are going to have a very unhappy girl on your hands for the two months you and she are in America, and Tomoya-kun is still here – finishing up high school."

"Oh!" Kyou hadn't thought of that, but she knew he was right. For that matter, Kyou wouldn't be too happy about being separated from Tomoya for two months either.

"Right now, you and Tomoya-kun are living in the same house and going to the same school with her. Soon, and for several years, you and Tomoya-kun will still be in the same house with her, but you will be attending different schools." Jun said, "I imagine it will be difficult for her at first, but I believe with your help she will eventually be strong enough that it will no longer bother her."

"I believe that too." Kyou's words were tainted with a little fear and sadness. Kyou had often wondered what would happen to her when Kotomi didn't need her any more.

"Some day, she will be strong enough that she will no longer need you or Tomoya by her side for her emotional stability. She will be strong enough to stand on her own." Jun smiled at the thought. "I am both hopeful of that day, and I dread what might happen to Kotomi-chan when that day comes."

"Eh?" Kyou dreaded that day too, but for what might happen to herself. _Kotomi? Why would you be worried about Kotomi? Like you said, she'll be strong enough to stand on her own then. She won't need me anymore._ Kyou accidentally said the last thought aloud, "She won't need me anymore."

"No," Jun agreed, "she won't need you any more at that point. And that is what concerns me. If you are by her side now, only because she needs you, will you leave her when you sense that she doesn't need you any more?"

"If I am unneeded..." Kyou didn't want to think about that eventuality. She didn't want to think about such things today of all days. _Why is he saying these hurtful things to me?_  
"I would understand if you did." Jun sounded regretful, "If you felt that a debt had been paid or a task was accomplished and you wanted to move on. I suppose that would be natural. But I shudder to think of the pain that it will cause Kotomi-chan."

"Huh?" Kyou was even more confused, "Why would she be in pain? I am the one that will be unneeded!"

"Unneeded yes," Jun said, "but never unwanted. Never unloved. Never uninvited."

"Ah!" Kyou blushed. Every feeling that had been tearing at her heart since Kobayashi-hakase had started talking to her, had suddenly turned into thoughts and feelings of an entirely different sort. Kyou's purple eyes were opened wide and she breathed shallowly as the full impact of what Jun had said began to register with her.

"I've monopolized your time enough." Jun saw that the message was delivered and Kyou would now have a lot to think about. "You should get back to the party."

Kyou was her usual smiling self when she rejoined the party, but she could not stop thinking about what Kobayashi-hakase had said. Throughout the remainder of the summer break, she would think about his counsel.

.

While Kyou was talking to Kobayashi-hakase, many of Kotomi and Tomoya's friends and classmates asked where they would be going on their honeymoon, to celebrate their marriage.

"Honeymoon?" Kotomi repeated the word, then blushed as she recalled the meaning.

"Perhaps that is too personal?" Ryou interjected when she saw Kotomi's obvious embarrassment.

"No," Kotomi said almost apologetically, "we won't be going on a honeymoon."

"What?" several people gasped. They were certainly surprised to hear this. After all, they still had a few weeks of their summer vacation left. It seemed wrong to lose this opportunity…

"We may take one later, but study time is critical and we just can't afford to take a vacation now." Tomoya told the shocked crowd. He knew of Kotomi's unshakable conviction and had agreed to it. As much as he would have liked to enjoy the last two weeks of his last high school summer vacation in frivolity and idleness, Kotomi was right. It wasn't her education that needed all the study time. He was the one that needed as much educational reinforcement as he could get.

"Eh?" one of the classmates balked at hearing someone like Okazaki Tomoya prioritize study over vacation.

"It's true," Kotomi backed up Tomoya's words, "for the remainder of the summer break, and until I leave for America, our routine will consist only of rigorous studying."

"That can't be..." some of their classmates worried that their marriage might not last to the end of the year. They could easily see Kotomi losing herself in hours of endless study but Tomoya?

"It won't all be study." the platinum blond Tomoyo countered. Her raised eyebrow was a clear challenge to Kotomi and Tomoya.

"Tomoyo-chan," Kotomi didn't understand the challenge in her friend's mannerism and thought only to correct the misunderstanding, "we have already discussed..."

"Not with me." Tomoyo cut Kotomi off.

"Eh?" Kotomi finally realized that it was not a misunderstanding, but a challenge.

For a moment, Tomoya thought about trying to stop this conversation and take it up with Tomoyo later. _Surely, anyone can see that this is something that should be discussed in private?_ But that was not the kind of person that Tomoyo was. She didn't use honorifics and she didn't seem to understand the need for secretive conversations either.

"Kotomi-chan, I understand the need to give Tomoya-kun and, to some extent, Kyou-chan as much educational reinforcement as possible." Tomoyo stated, "But you have overlooked your own needs. You still lack both strength and stamina."

"Eh!" Kotomi suddenly saw where this was going and felt the urge to panic, rising within her.

"Even Tomoya-kun and Kyou-chan will need regular exercise," Tomoyo pressed her case, "without it, they would both be easily exhausted and the time spent studying would become irrelevant."

"Oh… yes… well…" Kotomi tried to compromise, "I guess regular exercise would be fine."

"For them," Tomoyo smiled, "but not for you."

"Eh?" Kotomi's voice had become meek.

"I shall draw up a strenuous physical activity plan for you." Tomoyo promised, "By the time you go off to America, your strength and stamina should be improved enough that you should be able to work out with Tomoya-kun and Kyou-chan without hurting yourself."

"Tomoyo-chan…" Kotomi saw the smile on Tomoyo-chan's face and tried to decipher it. Was it malice or friendship? She couldn't tell, so she looked to Tomoya for guidance again. He seemed accepting of Tomoyo-chan's comments and did not seem at all upset. Initially, Kotomi was disappointed. She wanted to call Tomoyo-chan a bully for stealing some of her precious study time for painful exercise, but she had to agree that her own stamina still needed much improvement.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoyo saw the look on Kotomi's face that she usually had when she was considering many possibilities.

"Agreed, Tomoyo-chan." Kotomi said, "Until Kyou-chan and I leave in December, study and exercise shall be the highest priorities for the four of us."

Their classmates were not too stunned by this after all. Considering Kotomi and Tomoyo were involved in the planning, it didn't seem that unusual for something like this to end up being the plan. Still, they collectively wished that their classmates and friends would some day have a pleasant honeymoon to look back on.

"What did I miss?" Kyou asked as she got back from her chat with Kobayashi Jun.

"Not much," Youhei deadpanned, "we've just been discussing your honeymoon."

"Oh… MY WHAT?" Kyou gasped.

"Your honeymoon with Tomoya, Kotomi, and Tomoyo." Youhei said innocently, "What, didn't you know?"

"EH?" Kyou blushed furiously when she heard 'Your honeymoon with Tomoya' but the embarrassment turned to confusion and anger when she heard Tomoyo's name. Words became a feral growl as she grabbed Youhei by the collar of his Yukata.

"Kyou-senpai," Yukine's clear voice and her gentle hand on Kyou's powerful arm, gave the furious lavender haired girl pause, "As I do not wish to be a widow before I am a bride, allow me to explain.

"Eh?" Both Youhei and Kyou gaped at Yukine's comment.

"We have just heard Kotomi-senpai and Tomoyo-chan agree on the study and exercise plan that the four of you will be partaking in, during the time that would normally be a newlywed's honeymoon." Yukine summed up the conversation for the stunned Kyou.

"Never-mind that," Kyou still held onto Youhei's collar as she asked, "You said 'bride'… did this idiot finally ask you to marry him?"

"Not as yet," Yukine smiled with confidence, "but I remain hopeful."

"What?" Youhei looked stricken, "Yu-chan… you… you would marry a guy like me?"

"Oh Youhei-kun," Yukine looked into his eyes as she stroked the side of his face with her hand, "you have only to ask the question."

"Well?" Kyou's menacing voice pierced Youhei's shock. He turned to see that she still held him by the collar and she seemed even more irritated with him than before.

"Um… not yet," Youhei gasped, "I'm not ready… I mean… I don't have a ring!"

"Here!" A smiling Mei stood next to her stunned brother holding out a small velvet box with a set of rings in it.

"WHAT?" Youhei shrieked in surprise as he stared at the rather nice set of rings set on the white silk inside the box.

"These were Sunohara Obasan's." Mei explained to Yukine, "Okasan said for you to have them if you don't mind heirloom rings."

"Your mother is very kind," Yukine replied to Mei, "I would be honored to wear them."

"How long have you been carrying those around?" Nagisa quietly asked Mei.

"Ever since I got here," Mei smiled, "I wanted to be ready in case something like this happened."

"So, Youhei." Tomoya said casually, "No pressure or anything, but should I ask Kyou-chan to let go of you so you can propose? Or should I let Kyou-chan drag you out behind the building and beat you into insignificance."

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi sounded surprised.

"Yes, Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya turned to his bride.

For a moment Youhei thought he would be rescued by the aggression-averse Kotomi.

"You used that word correctly," Kotomi beamed, "I'm so proud of you."

"What?" Youhei cried out, "That's what you comment on? What about me?"

"Youhei-kun," Kotomi regarded the blond boy still dangling from Kyou-chan's fists, "I have no doubt you will ask for her hand. Indeed, the only reason you have not asked Yukine-chan to marry you, was that you did not feel that you were good enough for her. By now, you must have realized that your self-assessment is completely irrelevant. It was never your place to decide whether you are good enough; that is her decision. And I believe, she has already expressed her opinion on the matter quite clearly."

Feeling Youhei's panic, and a good deal of his ego, melt away – Kyou let him down and released him. Interestingly, he did not seem to be upset, but was smiling.

Looking around, Youhei could see that he was surrounded by friends. Tomoya and Kotomi were holding hands. Kyou backed into Tomoya and he put his hand on her shoulder to steady her as her own eyes teared up. Tomoyo and Mei were next to him as well. Ryou and Nagisa were standing next to Yukine and watched with awe as one happy event turned into another. Beyond his immediate friends were other club members, classmates, and friends. All seemed to be cheering him on.

"I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing," Youhei said to everyone, "this isn't going to be a normal proposal because… because I'm not a normal guy. I want to thank all of you." Youhei paused and looked down as he though about how he was feeling at that moment.

Some of his friends and many of the classmates were worried about what Youhei was doing. A few wondered if he was getting cold feet.

"A half a year ago I was not the kind of person that could stand here and ask someone as wonderful as Yukine to marry me. It's thanks to all of you that I am now." Looking first at Tomoyo, then at Kyou he said, "Some of you helped more than others, but all of you helped me to become a better person and I will remember that."

There was no response. Everyone was mesmerized by Youhei's speech. Even his sister, Mei could not believe that this was her brother in front of her.

"Miyazawa Yukine," Youhei took her hands and looked into her sparkling blue eyes, "will you…"

"YES!" Yukine could not help herself. Her usually reserved manners were temporarily suspended as she let the excitement and happiness overwhelm her. She pulled Youhei into an embrace and kissed him passionately before all of the assembled friends and family. She didn't care. She had loved Youhei since she took care of his unconscious body at Kotomi's birthday party. In her eyes, he was a wonder to behold. Like Tomoya-senpai, it seemed he was capable of amazing things if he applied himself. And, since those first meetings in her resource room, he had applied himself to one amazing thing after another.

Mei pushed her way in, after Youhei and Yukine finally finished their kiss.

"I'm not going to wait for the wedding," proclaimed Mei as she hugged Yukine, "I'm going to start calling you Onee-chan right now!"

"Very little in this world could make me happier, Mei-chan!" Yukine hugged her new little-sister-to-be back.

.

The cleaning crew started working on the auditorium before the last of the guests had left. Kotomi had offered to stay behind and clean the place, but Koumura-sensei had assured her that it would not be necessary. There were at least two clubs that he could think of, that needed some additional funds for the winter trips they wanted to take. As he stood in the middle of the big room and listened to the sound of folding tables and stacking chairs, he also heard some footsteps slowly coming toward him.

"Thank you very much, Koumura-san." Kobayashi Jun said to the aging teacher and counselor. "Without your help, this would never have happened."

"I don't know," Koumura chuckled, "you seem to be a pretty capable fellow."

"I've thought about that, but no." Kobayashi-hakase admitted, "I can't see how this could have worked without Okazaki Tomoya. And without you, I would not have considered him."

"That is good to hear." Koumura smiled, "It is always better to leave on a good note."

"You still plan to retire then?" Kobayashi asked.

"Yes," Koumura's smile turned a bit melancholy as he said, "I will be done at the end of this school year."

"Do you have any plans?" Kobayashi asked. He already knew that Koumura's wife had already passed away some time ago and he had no children.

"Not really," Koumura admitted, "I have a few hobbies I want to try, but nothing specific."

"Well," Kobayashi pulled out a card and offered it to the wizened gentleman, "if you are ready for a new challenge, give me a call."

"You have something for an old man like me?" Koumura asked.

"Indeed," Kobayashi smiled as he put on his hat to leave, "something which I believe you are uniquely suited for."

Koumura gave Kobayashi-hakase a formal bow as he left and looked at the card. He had been impressed with the gentleman's spirit and tenacity. He even thought he might know what hakase might have in mind for him. The thought of it made him chuckle. Placing the card in his wallet, he turned to watch the two teams of teenagers finishing with the cleanup of the room. As he thought about hakase's offer, he smiled and said, "Perhaps..."

.

Just as Kotomi and Tomoyo had promised, during the remaining weeks of their summer vacation, if they weren't sleeping or studying around the kitchen table, they were practicing in the downstairs dojo. Tomoyo-chan led the exercise and karate practice sessions and, even though she wasn't in the same year as the rest of them, she was in advanced classes and studied with everyone else as well. Occasionally, Yukine and Youhei would come by to study or exercise with them too.

.

 **Saturday noon, September 6 – Okazaki house**

* * *

From time to time, they did take a few breaks. On a few of the breaks, they visited the Okazaki house to see how it was coming along. Tomoya and Kotomi had agreed to pay for the supplies and let Iwa and his Ojiisan use the place as a training ground. The old man was teaching his grandson and the other gang members how to do home repairs and residential construction. Kotomi agreed with Yukine and Ojiisan that it was good for these young men to have a skill other than fighting and lifting heavy things, so they mostly stayed out of the way and only came by to see how the boys skills had progressed. Ojiisan spoke proudly of their work and showed how they had ripped out all of the dated electrical wiring and were installing newer and better elements. On another trip, he showed them how the plumbing had been repaired and upgraded. For this final visit of the summer vacation, all four of them would be going. They would be meeting up with Youhei and Yukine at Tomoya's old home. Ojiisan had told them over the phone that the job was only about half way finished, but he wanted them to see how the quality of the work had improved, and how the place looked with the interior walls back up.

All four of them were carrying baskets as they walked to the house. The bamboo containers that they carried were in the fashion of large picnic baskets. Each of the girls carried one and Tomoya had two by their sturdy handles.

"Oi, Okazaki!" They heard Youhei cry out as they turned onto the last street.

"Sunohara!" Tomoya called back. He hadn't realized until now how long it had been since he had seen his friend. Youhei looked well, perhaps even tanned. Had he gone to the beach? Tomoya wondered what his mischievous blond friend had been up to as he watched Youhei run to close the distance with them.

"Let me take one of those!" Youhei reached out his hand to one of the baskets Tomoya was carrying.

"Sure." Tomoya handed over the basket that had the large container of Miso soup and several bottles of green tea in it. He tried not to smile as Youhei took the unexpected weight and almost crashed to the ground.

"What do you have in here, bricks?" Youhei asked.

"Lunch." Tomoya couldn't help but laugh a little as he said it.

"We made lunch for everyone working at the house, to show our appreciation." Kotomi said.

"What," Youhei looked at the baskets and asked with unbridled enthusiasm, "these are all home made lunches?"

"Yes," Kyou said pointedly to Youhei, "they are for the guys that have been working on the house."

"So brutal!" Youhei sighed as he hefted the basket and continued on to the Okazaki house.

"Don't be sad, Youhei-kun." Yukine's sing-song voice said, "With the food that we brought, I'm sure there will be enough for everyone."

"You brought lunches too, Yukine-chan?" Kotomi asked.

"Yes, although what I prepared might be considered only snacks." Yukine admitted, "From the looks of these baskets, you are bringing a real meal."

"With all of this food, it looks like we can all enjoy lunch together." Kotomi said hopefully.

"A picnic at Tomoya's house." Kyou said with a giggle.

"A picnic…" Tomoya was lost in thought. There was a memory of another time that there was a picnic of sorts at his house. Almost the same cast of characters were there that time too. Kyou, Ryou, and Tomoyo were there for sure. He didn't remember Yukine being there but it seemed that Kotomi and even Fuko were there that time too. For some reason, it was not a pleasant memory.

"Tomoya-kun," Kotomi asked, "is something wrong?"

"Did we… did we do this before?" Tomoya tried to recall the memory in more detail but it was indistinct like a partially remembered dream.

"I don't think so." Kyou answered.

"Deja vu?" Kotomi asked.

"Yeah," Tomoya shook off the weird feeling, "I guess that was it."

"So… wait a minute!" Youhei sounded upset, "I couldn't have any lunch until you found out Yukine was here too?"

"Of course not," Tomoya teased, "If Yukine found out you were eating home made lunches from Kyou-chan and Tomoyo-chan, she might think they were hitting on you behind her back."

Tomoyo only raised an eyebrow at Tomoya's barb, but Kyou gripped her basket a little more tightly and gritted her teeth as she tried to suppress her building rage. Unfortunately, it was all too visible and Youhei decided to tease Kyou in turn.

"Awww Kyou-chan…" Youhei said sweetly, "I'm sorry for not noticing before but, are you hitting on me?"

"Trust me Youhei," Kyou raised her free hand and clenched her fist tight enough that everyone could hear the knuckles pop, "when I'm hitting on you… you will notice."

.

While the others talked and laughed, Tomoyo became concerned. She knew exactly what kind of guys were in Tomoya's old house and they were close enough now that she should be hearing laughter, shouting, and all the other noises that a bunch of rowdy guys in Kazuto's gang would make. Tomoyo walked a little faster and started falling into her old habit of scouting the area ahead for threats. Her concern deepened when she saw nothing but thought she heard the sound of someone crying. She was wondering if this could all be an elaborate trap and had already changed her hold on the basket she was carrying so she could react quickly. She turned briefly to warn the others that something might be wrong when she saw Kyou running to overtake her. After only a glance, she could tell that Kyou did not look pleased.

Kyou was enjoying the conversation and hadn't noticed Tomoyo moving to the front of the group or acting strangely. _Twinge_. Kyou forgot about the conversation and looked around. She now noticed exactly where everyone was and noticed a few things were off. Youhei had gone quiet since a few minutes ago and Tomoyo had moved to the front of the group and was looking around. But that's not what the twinge meant. Whenever she got that strange feeling, she knew that Ryou was somewhere nearby, and she was distressed. She never knew what the cause of the distress was; it could be fear, embarrassment, sadness, or any other strong, but usually negative feeling. Whatever it was, it meant that her sister could be in trouble. Looking back at Youhei she could tell that he also felt that something was wrong, but he was behaving defensively. It was as if he was uncomfortable with his surroundings. Tomoyo, on the other hand had moved to the front and was actively looking for something. _She knows something is wrong too… Ryou must be up there!_ Before she had finished processing the thought through her mind, she bolted down the street toward Tomoyo and the Okazaki house.

Arriving at Tomoya's old home, Tomoyo and Kyou found Nagisa and Ryou at the front door. Nagisa looked on the verge of tears and Ryou was consoling her. A quick look told Kyou that both of them appeared to be unhurt.

"What's wrong?" Tomoyo called out when she saw the state of the two girls.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Ryou called out, "I'm so glad you're here! Come quickly and take care of Nagisa."

 _Ryou!_ Kyou felt crushed that her sister called out to Tomoyo when she was standing there too. _Have they become so close? Is Tomoyo replacing me? Have I been away from my sister for too long?_

"Onee-chan!" Ryou called out urgently to her stunned sister, "I need you to help me inside!"

"Yes!" Kyou could tell something was still troubling her sister, but the words she just heard were the sweetest treasure of all. _She needs me!_

The happiness on Kyou's face changed to horror as they got inside the house. There were twisted looking bodies everywhere and they weren't moving. Kyou recognized many of the guys on the floor from the last visit but she didn't know their names. She had only ever really talked to…

"Ojiisan!" Kyou cried out and ran to the old man lying crumpled and twisted on the floor. She pulled his head into her lap and looked at his horrifyingly distorted face. Even in their unconscious state, all of the fallen bodies seemed to be wearing expressions of excruciating pain.

"Check and see if he is still breathing," Ryou said as she knelt beside another fallen body and checked for breathing and pulse. "I've already called emergency services."

"What…" Kyou looked around at the dozen bodies fallen in the living room and hallway, "What happened to them?"

"Sanae made some rolls this morning… without Tomoyo-chan." Ryou admitted with pained words. "She called them Kaleidoscope Reflection rolls. Nagisa and I didn't know there were a bunch of them in the bags we brought here."

"Oh no…" Kyou now noticed that, clutched in the hand or lying nearby each twisted body, there was a small pastry that seemed to reflect light strangely. Looking into her sister's eyes, Kyou could see the sadness and desperation there. She looked toward the front door where Tomoyo was comforting Nagisa. She knew what both Nagisa and her sister were dreading. Sanae had to be told… that she should never bake again.

.

 **Saturday evening, September 6 – Furukawa residence**

* * *

Yukine was the one to call the bakery to tell Akio to remove and destroy all of Sanae's latest pastries. He seemed reluctant at first, so Yukine sent him pictures from her cell phone to let him know just how bad it was.

Sanae saw Akio quietly throwing away all of her latest creations a few minutes later. She tried to do her usual routine again, but he caught her as she tried to run out of the store and thrust the phone into her hands.

"I'm not running after you this time!" he yelled at her. No longer yelling, but in a pained voice, he added, "I have work to do. I have to destroy everything you baked today."

"What?" Sanae was truly shocked that Akio would deviate from his normal conciliatory routine and say such hurtful things.

"Look at the pictures, Sanae." Akio's tone was sad and defeated.

Sanae looked at the first picture and saw a young man lying twisted and still on the ground somewhere. The way his body and face were distorted, it appeared that he was in great pain. She hit the key that brought up the next picture and saw another young man in the same condition. Another picture, then another. Sanae wondered why her husband had all these pictures of sick or injured men on his phone until she got to a picture that was a little different. It was a close up shot of a hand still clutching something. The hand still held a half eaten pastry that seemed to reflect light strangely. Sanae gasped as she recognized the pastry in his hand as her latest creation. She hit the key to go back and now noticed that the previous picture also had one of her pastries in it. And the one before that… and the one before that.

For the next hour, the only sounds in the Furukawa bakery were those of Akio destroying several kilograms of pastry product and cleaning up. And, the sound of Sanae sobbing as she went through every picture in that folder and absorbed the horror of what her creation had done… what she had done.

.

While walking from the Okazaki house to the bakery, there had been some discussion about how they should handle things once they got there. Nagisa tried to take responsibility since it was her mother, but it was plain to see that she wasn't emotionally up to that. She had been far too shaken by what she had seen at the Okazaki house. Both Ryou and Tomoya were about to volunteer when Tomoyo spoke up.

"This is about baking, right?" Tomoyo said with resignation, "Clearly, there is only one person she will listen to then." Tomoyo knew it would have to be her. She hated that, but there was no other way. She knew she might alienate the whole Furukawa family with what she would have to say. She would have to say goodbye to the loving family she had become so close to. No more early mornings of learning the craft from Akio, no more baking experiments with Sanae…

Ryou knew what Tomoyo stood to lose too. She had noticed Tomoyo's happiness when she was working with Akio and Sanae in the bakery. It was a happiness that Ryou never saw Tomoyo express anywhere else. If things go badly, Tomoyo may never have that happiness again. Ryou could see that Tomoyo realized the same thing. Ryou knew that she could lose her happiness as well, but she couldn't let Tomoyo do this alone.

"We'll both talk to her." Ryou said as she took Tomoyo's hand.

Tomoyo was afraid to latch onto the hope that Ryou offered. If there was a way to cushion the blow, that would be nice. But, Tomoyo was aware of Ryou's relationship with Nagisa and she would not let Ryou endanger her position with the Furukawa family. If worse came to worse, Tomoyo would be the only one never to be invited back to the Furukawa residence again.

Kotomi seemed to be daydreaming as they walked but Tomoya knew better. He could tell that she was deep in thought. She would occasionally glance at Tomoyo, Nagisa, Yukine, and even Youhei. Tomoya imagined that Kotomi was simultaneously moving thousands of pieces on hundreds of chess boards. He wondered how the games were going, but kept quiet so Kotomi could finish her calculations and follow all the permutations as quickly as possible. Not long before arriving at the bakery, Tomoya noticed a smile on Kotomi's face and felt a bit more hopeful for the coming encounter. Tapping Kotomi and Kyou with the baskets he was carrying, he motioned for them to slow their pace so he could talk to them quietly.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya started.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi acknowledged.

"Who will you need?" Tomoya asked with a wry smile.

As soon as Kyou heard Tomoya's question, she knew that Kotomi had figured something out. She still wasn't good with the actual interaction, but she could come up with very effective solutions when she had the pertinent facts.

"I will need Tomoyo-chan, Ryou-chan, and Yukine-chan with me." Kotomi smiled back at Tomoya. She was appreciative that they had come to know each other well enough that he could read her so accurately. She only wished she had attained the same level of perception as well.

"Not Nagisa-chan?" Kyou asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Kotomi went back over her assumptions and the possible solutions again to be sure, but Nagisa's current emotional condition could only be an impediment to a potential solution.

"I see." To anyone else, Kotomi's one word response might have seemed cold, but Tomoya knew that she was rethinking everything. "We'll take care of the rest."

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun, Kyou-chan." Kotomi smiled again.

"Kyou-chan," Tomoya decided, "I'm guessing that Sanae-san hasn't started dinner with what has happened today."

"Probably not." Kyou agreed.

"If you will take Nagisa-chan to the kitchen and make a dinner from what is left in all these baskets, Youhei and I will take Akio-san to the park across the street and see what we can do for him."

"Yes!" Kyou seized on Tomoya's suggestion. This was something she could do. Something she could help with. For the first time, since seeing the bodies on the floor at the Okazaki house, she had hope of a happy outcome.

Without any more discussion, the three of them walked a little faster and caught up with the others.

By the time the teenagers arrived, all the dangerous pastries were gone and Sanae was an emotional wreck. Akio didn't look well either. He didn't like having to give his wife bad news and this had been particularly hard for him. Sanae hadn't stayed in the bakery and watched as he destroyed her pastries, but he had been able to hear her crying from the doorway that led into the residence.

Nagisa was a little surprised when Kyou pulled her away from Ryou and headed for the kitchen. She was about to protest when she saw Kyou put a finger to her lips and give her a conspirators wink. Looking around, she noticed that all of the picnic baskets were being dropped off in the kitchen, but no-one was staying there but her and Kyou. Again, she wanted to ask Kyou what was going on.

"Kotomi has a plan for Sanae-san." Kyou said softly as she handed Nagisa an apron.

"She does?" Nagisa's spirits got a boost from that news.

"Yes, and Tomoya has a plan for Akio-san." Kyou said as she put on an apron herself.

"Really?" Nagisa actually sounded hopeful.

"Yup," Kyou smiled at her friend that was suddenly in much better spirits, "We have the easy part. All we have to do is turn all these picnic leftovers into dinner."

"I hope we have enough." Nagisa looked around at all the baskets. There were several of them, but none of them were full any more. Nagisa looked through the doorway and saw that her mother was surrounded by Kotomi, Yukine, Tomoyo, and her beloved Ryou. It wasn't confrontational though. She could see her dear Ryou-chan had her arms in a loving hug around her mother's shoulders. Although she wanted to be with her mother too, she trusted her friends. Turning back to Kyou, she opened the nearest basket and said, "Let's do our best!"

.

"Old man." Tomoya called out as he entered the bakery and saw the depressed looking Furukawa Akio sitting at the register in the closed shop.

"Eh?" Akio looked startled and a little upset that Tomoya would sound so playful when his family was hurting.

"Three baseball gloves. One ball. The park. Let's go." Tomoya rattled it off and could see an instant improvement in Akio's demeanor.

Akio could see by the look on Tomoya's face that he was not making light of the situation. Rather, it looked like Tomoya was aware of the problem but knew that a solution was already in the works. Aside from that, an offer to throw the baseball around when he felt stressed was always welcome.

"Yeah," Akio agreed, "let's go." In moments, he was out the door with Tomoya and Youhei.

.

Sanae saw the girls joining her at the table and started to get up to make some tea. Her fear was affirmed when she felt Ryou-chan's gentle hands on her shoulders. They were going to talk to her about…

"Sanae-san?" Kotomi started.

"Um… Kotomi-chan?" Sanae was familiar with Kotomi's peculiar way of starting a conversation but she was surprised that the purple haired girl was the one to talk to her. However, she didn't start talking just yet. Sanae looked around and realized she hadn't greeted the others yet, "Yukine-chan, Tomoyo-chan, Ryou-chan." The last she said while placing her own hand on the girl's hand that was still on her shoulder.

"Nagisa and Ryou have already told us about the little discovery before the school play." Yukine said. She was of course, referring to the cache of memorabilia from Akio and Sanae's high school and college days. The promising years before they had given up their dreams to insure Nagisa's health.

"Um… yes?" Sanae was still confused. Surely they were here to talk about her latest baking fiasco. She didn't want to be reprimanded by her daughters friends. It was all so embarrassing, but they had been the ones that witnessed those poor young men suffering so horribly. Sanae felt like an absolute failure.

"You were a middle school teacher before you gave it up to take care of Nagisa-chan." Kotomi stated rather than asked, "and according to Nagisa-chan and Ryou-chan, you are very good at teaching the cram school that you run in the afternoons."

"Oh, um…" Sanae squeezed Ryou's hand at the unexpected kind words, "thank you."

"I want you to consider the following points," Kotomi sounded as if she were about to give a lecture on an ongoing experiment, "First: you and Akio-san gave up your chosen careers and became bakers so that you could have more time at home. You needed to do this to help Nagisa-chan because there was no-one else at the time. Do you agree that this is true?"

"Yes." Sanae agreed.

"Second," the girl genius continued, "Nagisa-chan now has many friends that have proven themselves capable and willing to take care of her, should anything happen. Ergo, the justification for giving up your career is now irrelevant. Do you agree that this is true?"

"… Yes." Sanae realized that she was clinging to a past unnecessarily now.

"Third," Kotomi continued, "I have provided a better explanation for Nagisa-chan's mystery illness than anyone else to date. My hypothesis is backed up with data from Fuko-chan and Tomoya-kun. I have explained and you have accepted my theory that the crisis that caused it is over, and that Nagisa-chan should have no more of these mystery illnesses. Do you agree that this is true?"

"Yes!" Sanae hoped and prayed that this was true more than anything else.

"Fourth," Kotomi didn't try to cushion the blow. She delivered the words with the same delivery as a dispassionate scientific discussion, "your baking abilities are haphazard at best, but your teaching skills are excellent. As there is no longer any imperative to keep you at home, it is time for you to return to your original career choice and once again, become a teacher. Do you agree that this is true?"

"Ah!" Ryou cried out at the harshness of Kotomi's words, "Kotomi-chan, that was…"

"Cold." Yukine finished the sentence, but was smiling as she said it. "Sanae-san, you know that you are not good at baking but you want to be better at it. You want to master it. In that way, you are like Kotomi-chan. Her social skills are… 'haphazard at best' but she keeps trying. Just as she did now, she still makes mistakes. But with her friends around her, she is forgiven and she learns."

"Sanae-san," Tomoyo sounded more stern than the rest. "Promise me that you will never bake again… without someone with you."

"Tomoyo-chan…" Sanae latched onto the hope in the platinum blonds words, "will you still bake with me?"

"Oh?" Tomoyo seemed surprised, "Do you still want me to? After having to tell you this.. I thought you might not like me anymore."

"Oh no, Tomoyo-chan!" Sanae reached across the table and took Tomoyo's hand, "I understand and… I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I put those pastries in the bags without telling anyone. I'm sorry that my pastries hurt those boys. And, I'm sorry that all of you had to be put through that."

"Sanae-san." Ryou said as she bent over and hugged Sanae from behind.

Kotomi watched everything unfold as she had hoped. Sanae-san's relationships with Tomoyo-chan and Ryou-chan were still intact and they had achieved a solution that was not too upsetting. Dinner at the Furukawa home turned out to be a happy affair that evening. Instead of the brooding darkness that many had expected, there was rejoicing and congratulations for Sanae's decision to return to teaching.


	24. Chapter 24 - Her Greatest Desire

**S** **un** **day** **early mor** **ning, September** **7** **– Furukawa residence**

* * *

"AH!" Akio felt the spirit leaving his body at the shock of seeing someone looking back at him through the bakery shop door. It was still terribly early in the morning and he had just thrown up the metal shutters in his routine to start getting the shop ready for the morning baking. As he staggered back, the door swung open and a blur of long powder blond hair swooped down on him.

"Akio-san, are you injured?" Tomoyo was concerned. She had been waiting for the doors to open for only a little while, but was concerned that her baking sensei might be having a heart attack.

"No, just… surprised." Akio struggled to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Tomoya said you wanted me to come this morning." she wondered, "Is this one of his jokes?"

"Ah, yes… that." Akio cleared his throat, "Sorry Tomoyo-chan, I'm not at my best in the morning until I've had my first coffee. I did ask Tomoya-kun to send you over."

"Oh?" Tomoyo cocked her head and watched as Akio seemed to be fidgeting a little.

"Tomoya, Youhei, and I made these plans while we were playing catch yesterday." He looked guilty as he admitted, "I wanted to discuss the plans with you but with all that was going on, I guess I forgot."

"That is understandable." Tomoyo recalled the incident with Sanae-san's dangerous bread, the fallout from people actually eating it, and all the tears. Truly, it was understandable that Akio-san would forget something on such a tumultuous day.

"Anyway," Akio straightened himself, "I remember you saying how much you enjoyed making the wedding cakes with me and I thought you might appreciate this. How would you like to make a birthday cake. You can make it as elaborate as you like. You can ask me for help if you need to, but this will be your project."

"Really?" Tomoyo's eyes lit up, "As elaborate as I like? I can make it multi-tier like we did with Kotomi's bride's cake?"

"Actually, a multi-tier cake might be best," Akio grinned at the teenager's obvious excitement, "this cake may need to serve about two dozen people."

"Two dozen!" Tomoyo was shocked, "Who is this cake for?"

"The Fujibayashi twins." Akio said gently. He was aware of the recent and possibly tenuous friendship between Tomoyo and Kyou and worried that this might deflate some of Tomoyo's excitement.

"I'll be making Kyou's birthday cake?" Tomoyo asked. Tomoyo was not concerned with any perceived animosity or rivalry. She thought only of Kyou's skill at cooking and the challenge it presented to her.

"Yes," Akio added, "and it's Ryou's too."

"I see," Tomoyo revised the difficulty level that this project would be, "well, the pressure is on now. If I want to make a cake that will impress Fujibayashi Kyou, I'll need to go all-out." She looked up at Akio and with determination and said, "I'll do my best!"

.

 **S** **un** **day** **mor** **ning, September** **7** **–** **Ichinose** **residence**

* * *

"Ryou-chan?" Kotomi called out to the younger Fujibayashi sister.

"Yes?" Ryou had been waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her older sister and was surprised to see Kotomi first. Nagisa was with her mother in the kitchen at the moment, so it was just the two of them as Kotomi descended the staircase.

"Kyou-chan will be down soon. Tomoya-kun is helping her get dressed now."

"Oh, I… WHAT?" Ryou looked at Kotomi in shock.

"Huh?" Kotomi could see that Ryou appeared to be in some distress but didn't know why. Worrying that she might have made another faux pas, she asked, "Ryou-chan, have I offended you?"

"No." Ryou still felt like this girl genius was stealing her Onee-chan away from her sometimes, but she knew it was baseless and Kotomi would never do anything to hurt… well… anyone. However, she realized that her own ability to hide her feelings bordered on pathetic if someone as socially clueless as Kotomi noticed it. Ryou decided to clear it up by explaining, "Sometimes I think of Onee-chan going off to study abroad with you and I feel like you are taking my sister away from me."

"This makes you sad." Kotomi was now standing next to Ryou at the base of the stairs and reached out to caress her cheek.

"Yeah," Ryou didn't recoil from the touch and felt the warmth of Kotomi's fingers across her cheek, "It's just that… we've always been together and now…"

"It feels like it is all falling apart and you feel lost." Kotomi said as she dropped her hand.

"Kotomi… chan?" Ryou could tell by the sound of her voice that this was something that greatly disturbed Kotomi as well.

"I have lived alone for so long, Ryou-chan." Kotomi looked into Ryou's blue eyes and told her, "I didn't have anything to lose when I was alone. It was only me and my books. I didn't even know how badly I wanted… more. I never knew how much I needed to have friends. Until Tomoya pulled me out of the library and introduced me to his friends – to you, and Nagisa-chan, and your sister... I did not understand the joy of having friends. Now… it seems that I live in fear."

"Fear?" Ryou asked.

"Now that I have known the splendor of friendship, I… I am so afraid that I will do something wrong and lose a precious friend." Kotomi sounded desperate, "Ryou-chan, you are all so precious to me. In my whole life, you are the only friends I have ever had. Each one of you is so precious… I can't afford to lose even one of you. I would be… I would be devastated!"

"Kotomi-chan," Ryou sounded flustered, "I never said I don't want to be your friend anymore."

"No… but there must be no misunderstandings." Kotomi put her hands on Ryou's shoulders and looked deep into her eyes, "If there is anything that I do that bothers you, I must hear about it from you. You must always feel that you can talk to me. Can you promise me that you will do that?"

"Yes, Kotomi-chan." Ryou saw that Kotomi seemed visibly relieved when she answered.

"I can be obtuse sometimes, so you may need to be blunt with me. Can you do that?" Kotomi asked.

"I…" Ryou had been the peacemaker between her father and her older sister for many years, but being blunt was not something she had ever got used to. "I will try."

"Thank you, Ryou-chan!" Kotomi allowed her hands to drop to her sides. "For my part, I will try to make fewer social blunders so that I will not embarrass you so much."

"Kotomi-chan, you didn't say anything wrong." Ryou now found herself trying to ease Kotomi's concern, "It's just that Onee-chan will be so far away…"

"You know," Sanae-san's voice came from behind Ryou as she and Nagisa returned with some drinks, "you are sisters and that is a bond not easily broken. No matter how far away you are from each other in this world, or what trials may come, you will always be sisters to each other."

"I wish I had a sister." Nagisa said as she looked at her dear Ryou.

"I'm sorry about that, Nagisa." Sanae wiped a tear from her eye and admitted, "If I had known how hard it would be to let you go when you finish school, I would have insisted on making you several little brothers and sisters."

"We're not finished with school yet!" Ryou tried to be cheerful.

"I know," Sanae wiped another tear away, "but I can feel it. This is the last summer vacation of the last year of high school and then…"

"And then your daughter will be studying to become a thespian." Kotomi said, "And her lover will be with her as she studies to become a nurse."

"Eh?" Both the girlfriends and even Sanae blushed at Kotomi's last comment.

"They will never be too far away, and they will always love you for the caring and wonderful mother that you are." Kotomi said with a look of sadness in her eyes.

"Kotomi…" Sanae blushed harder now.

"If I may…" Kotomi continued, "there is always a little pain for me when I am around you. You are so gentle, kind, and understanding. I see you and regret all the years I did not get to have with my own mother. Years that I can only get back… in my dreams."

"Oh Kotomi!" Sanae pulled the purple haired girl into an embrace and held her tight.

"I knew she was a genius, but I didn't know she was an evil genius." Kyou smirked from a few steps up on the staircase.

"Yep, that's how it starts." Tomoya was standing next to Kyou, "first she steals Ryou's sister, then she steals Nagisa's mother."

"Kyou-chan! Tomoya-kun! I didn't…" a flustered Kotomi tried to explain.

"It's okay, Kotomi-chan." Kyou calmed her friend down, "we were just doing a little joke to lighten the mood."

"Are you sure?" Kotomi asked hopefully.

"Yes, Kotomi-chan," Tomoya said, "there is no need for heavy hearts and tears before you all go shopping together!"

"Are you sure you won't join us, Tomoya-kun?" Ryou asked.

"No, this is a girl thing. Go enjoy yourselves." Tomoya waved them off, "Besides, I'll be over at the Furukawa Bakery helping Akio-san with something. "I'll see you all there when you finish with your shopping."

.

 **S** **un** **day** **afternoon** **, September** **7** **– Furukawa** **Bakery**

* * *

"Wow!" Tomoya, Youhei, Yukine, and Fuko were all astounded with the cake they saw in front of them.

"That cake looks amazing!" Tomoya said. Unleashed from the conventions of what a wedding cake should look like, Tomoyo had let her creative side run free. The top tier looked more like a honey glazed fruit tart with many kinds of berries and slices of tropical fruits glazed into the top and sides. The middle tier looked like a swirl of a dozen shades of brown. Although the bottom tier was covered in a white creamy frosting, it was also decorated with colorful sprinkles and thirty-six candles.

"Why are there so many candles?" Youhei asked.

"Eighteen for Kyou and eighteen for Ryou." Tomoyo answered.

"Yes, Tomoyo-chan did a fine job, but you can gawk at the cake later," Akio reminded them, "the girls are on the way back so we need to get the rest of the birthday decorations up!"

.

Although the Furukawa Bakery and connected house were fairly large, there were no single large rooms that could hold everyone that came for the party. Fortunately, the weather was nice and they were also able to make use of the back yard. With the Performance Club. Family members, and other friends coming to the party, there were almost thirty people stuffed into the Furukawa house.

Sanae, Kouko, and a few others really thrived with all the people in the house. Others, like Kotomi, found the crowded house to be too much to handle. Despite the heat of the late summer Sunday, she was more comfortable when Tomoya pulled her out of the house and the two of them sat down in the quiet of the park across the street.

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi said as she tried to slow her breathing and heart rate from the panic levels they had been reaching.

"I hate to say this, but tomorrow might be just as bad." Tomoya warned her.

"Huh?" Kotomi wondered why Monday would be so bad. Kotomi knew it was true that this was not the actual birthday for the twins, but that day would be Tuesday, not Monday.

"We got married over the summer break. That's pretty rare." Tomoya explained, "We can expect some help from the friends that came to the wedding, but there are going to be a lot of questions from all the curious."

"Oh no…" Kotomi was genuinely frightened now, "Tomoya-kun… I don't think I want to go back to school!"

"Hey, relax." Tomoya pulled her over to lean against him and waited until he could feel her begin to calm down. "Kyou and I have already made arrangements."

"Arrangements?" Kotomi asked.

"For the first week that we are back in school, one – or both of us will be with you." Tomoya told her.

"Really?" Kotomi sounded only a little frightened, but there was a lot more hope in her voice.

"We'll get you to your classroom and you don't leave there until we come to get you, okay?" Tomoya explained the arrangement that he and Kyou had made.

"Yes, Tomoya-kun. I promise." Kotomi smiled. She knew what her weaknesses were and, along with her fear of flying, this was as bad as it gets. But she wouldn't be alone anymore. Tomoya-kun and Kyou-chan were her two favorite people in the world and she was thrilled that they would be there to care for her. She wound her arm through his and moved closer to him on the bench. Though the September afternoon was quite warm, she didn't care. When he looked down at her, she kissed him to show her appreciation… and her love.

.

 **S** **un** **day** **evening** **, September** **7** **–** **Ichinose residence**

* * *

Finally back at the place that all of them were now calling 'home' - the stress of the day seemed to be falling away from them. Kotomi helped Tomoyo put the boxes with the small amount of leftover birthday cake in the refrigerator. Tomoyo was very happy with how the cake came out and was even more pleased when Kyou had complimented it. By the time the party was over, the only cake left was what Sanae had put aside for the birthday girls to take home.

Tomoya and Kyou set the bags of presents down on the kitchen table for a moment.

"Would anyone like some tea?" Kotomi asked.

"Oh no!" Tomoyo waved her off, "I'm exhausted. I just want to get a bath and get to bed."

"Me too," Kyou started to pick up her bags but Kotomi stopped her.

"Kyou-chan, a moment." Kotomi put her hand on Kyou's arm and pulled her around to see what she was holding with her other hand. A small velvet box was in Kotomi's open hand and she held it out to Kyou. "This is my birthday present to you, Kyou-chan."

"Oh, Kotomi," Kyou said with a laugh, "did you forget to give it to me at the party? I didn't know how forgetful our genius was…" Opening the small box, Kyou found a jewelery set inside. A white gold ring with a purple amethyst surrounded by small diamonds was on display in the middle of the box, and a set of matching ear rings of white gold and purple amethyst flanked it on either side.

"Oh Kotomi!" Kyou gasped as she held the beautiful ring in her hand. "This is… this is…" Kyou meant to say that this present was too much for her, but Kotomi's words diffused that sentiment.

"This is a promise ring." Kotomi took the ring from Kyou's hand and put it on her ring finger. "Like the ring that I now wear, it is a physical reminder of the feelings and commitments we have for the ones we love."

Tomoyo looked at the wedding band on Tomoya's hand, the set of rings on Kotomi's hand, and now the ring on Kyou's hand. She didn't look at her own hand but one hand covered the other and she felt the bare fingers of her hands as if they were somehow unpleasantly naked. She had never been one for jewelery, but now something was stirring within her soul – a feeling of emptiness she hadn't felt before. For the first time, she wondered when she might have a ring of her own to wear.

.

 **Mon** **day** **morning** **,** **September 8** **–** **Classroom 3D**

* * *

For the students that had not bothered to look at the grades and standings before they went off to their summer vacations, there was a bit of a shock on their return. For many of them, it seemed that their world was turned upside down. Not only had the school's two biggest delinquents raced past many of them in the academic rankings, it seemed that Tomoya was signed up for every mock exam that the second semester had to offer. Some laughed and wondered if Tomoya really thought he might be able to get into any college. When they found out that he was already accepted to study abroad, they were stunned.

Many would comment that there was no way anyone could get enough studying in for all those exams, but others would respond that he was always studying these days, and his tutor was none other than Ichinose Kotomi. Some cried foul at this seemingly unfair access to the school's super-genius, but very few people gave those complaints any attention.

Tomoya had known that this semester would not be a lot of fun for him from the beginning. Nagisa's play was done and it had been quite a success, but now it was time to really hit the books. That had been Kotomi's promise to Tomoya, and she had held up her end of the bargain. She had made every effort to support Nagisa's dream and help with her play. All of the friends had worked hard for the play and it had been a resounding success, but the play was done and the excuses were gone now. Other than the workouts with the karate club and the practices led by Tomoyo in the dojo in Kotomi's house, all of his time was being devoted to study. At first, Tomoya thought that Kotomi planed to turn him into a genius like her, with all this studying. He was mortified when he found out that her goals were much more mundane than that. She told him that she was only trying to get him to the level that he could be successful in his college courses and not flunk out in his very first year. It was her opinion that he did not yet posses the minimum knowledge and skills to begin his college career, but with her help and with the time they had left before their classes started, he would. Although the comments stung, it made him realize just how much of his education he had let slip away in the last several years of foolish laziness.

Tomoyo's assessment of Tomoya had improved as well. She had been brought in by Kotomi with the singular goal of helping to get Kyou's and Tomoya's English language mastery to the level of fluency. She had since taken over most of the food preparation and exclusively ran the workout sessions in the dojo. Although Kyou's attempts to master conversational English had gone fairly well from the outset, for Tomoya it had been slow going at first. Recently however, since the wedding, he seemed to be improving every day. He also seemed to be improving physically. He would never have the mobility in his injured arm that he once had, but he was showing improved range and strength in the damaged arm and shoulder.

Kotomi was making progress as well. Although she still needed a lot of improvement with her stamina, she was less afraid to talk to people and less fearful of making mistakes when doing so. Her friends had shown her that she could be forgiven for social blunders. 'Less afraid' does not mean fearless though. She still liked to have one or two friends around her when meeting new people, or speaking to large groups. Such was the case this morning, on the first morning of school after the summer break… and the first morning of school since getting married.

Apparently, just as Tomoya had predicted, the rumors had spread like wildfire.

"Ichinose-san! Ichinose-san, is it true? Did you really get married over the summer break?"

"Ichinose-san! Was it an arranged marriage through your family?"

"Ichinose-san! Do you even know the guy?"

"Ichinose-san! Is he a student here too?"

"Ichinose-san! Did you really marry a delinquent… a thug… a gang member… a criminal?

"Ichinose-san! Did you want to get married or was this an obligation thing?"

"SHUT UP!" Kyou bellowed. The mob of students had not noticed either Tomoya's or Kyou's presence until she yelled at them. Although not at full fury, Kyou's dark aura was enough to scare the throng into submission. Since the terrified crowd consisted mostly of first and second year students, Kyou didn't know many of them. All of them knew her though. Some because they admired her and others because they had heard the stories of how powerful and dangerous she was. Whether fan or foe, all were cowed now under the display of her unbridled anger.

Kotomi had moved to stand partially behind Tomoya-kun. She had barely been coping with the throng of inquisitive classmates, but Kyou-chan's eruption had further frightened her. She knew Kyou-chan was only trying to protect her, but the protection itself was often as scary as the initial menace.

"I just…" one student started to say something but Kyou's demonic glare focused on the unfortunate soul and a second year girl suddenly wished she had not come to school this morning. "Eep!" she squeaked and said no more in front of Kyou.

"Apparently…" Kyou forced herself to calm down, "...the rumors are not very complete. Or… maybe some of you have trouble believing them? In any case, I will answer your questions. Kotomi married her childhood friend, Okazaki Tomoya on the seventeenth of August. It was not an obligation thing and it was not an arranged marriage. They are married because… because they love each other."

"Why are you answering for Ichinose-san?"

"How do you know what was going on with Ichinose-san?"

Kyou could feel the anger building back up again and was about to answer them when she heard Kotomi's voice from next to Tomoya. Her voice wasn't loud, and it trembled a little from the anxiety of speaking to so may unfamiliar people, but she was heard nonetheless.

"Kyou-chan knows." Kotomi said through her fear, "Kyou-chan was my maid of honor at the wedding. She knows all my doubts and fears. She shares all my love and hope… for a bright future. She knows because she is my dearest and closest friend."

"Kotomi-chan!" Kyou looked into her friends eyes. The crowd was silent now. Some had become embarrassed from what they had been suggesting and were quietly walking away. Others saw the arrival of Sunohara Youhei with a most unsettling smile and a few members of the disciplinary committee - and decided it was time to leave. However, even if they had been screaming, Kyou wouldn't have heard them. She could hear only her own heartbeat as she looked into her friends purple eyes. She wondered if she had ever felt a friendship as strong as this before.

.

 **Early Autumn of 2003**

* * *

Many were amazed at how diligently Tomoya stuck to the aggressive study program that Kotomi had made up for him. Koumura was proud, current and former teachers were stunned, classmates were awed. But no-one was more surprised than Tomoya himself. Having long disdained studying, he was astonished at what he had accomplished in such a short time. By the end of the semester, his grades in his courses were immensely improved and he was one of the top performers on the mock exams.

Most of the fall had been devoted to study, just as Kotomi had planned. But it hadn't all been study. They visited the Okazaki house from time to time, to keep tabs on the reconstruction efforts there.

There had been a typhoon in the middle of September that caused no damage but was sufficient to close the school for a day of hard rain. Kotomi was fighting an upset stomach for most of October, but she kept the pressure up on Tomoya and Kyou to keep to their studies.

They celebrated Tomoyo's birthday in the middle of October and Tomoya's birthday just before the Cultural Festival. Although Kotomi, Tomoya, and Kyou hadn't participated this time, the Performance Club had put on another performance at the festival and it had been another resounding success.

.

 **Satur** **day** **afternoon** **,** **Nov** **ember 8** **–** **the City Cemetery**

* * *

Only a few days after the Cultural Festival at the end of October, tragedy struck Yukine and Youhei. Yukine's older brother and guardian was killed in an accident.

Out of respect for Yukine, and at Youhei's request, Tomoya, Kotomi, Tomoyo, and Kyou attended the memorial service for Miyazawa Kazuto. When they arrived at the City Cemetery to support Yukine and pay their respects, they saw many visitors leaving rapidly as if there was trouble. Upon entering the grounds, it appeared as if there might be a turf war between Kazuto's old gang and the rival gang that they had always fought with.

"No!" A distraught Yukine covered her eyes with her hands, "Not here… not now."

"Get behind me!" Tomoya moved Kotomi into a safer position behind him and Kyou stood next to Tomoya. Tomoyo was wearing a hat and a long scarf to hide her identity. She looked at the two groups and saw that something was off. Nonetheless, she let herself become loose and got ready to enter the fray if it looked like any of her friends might get hurt. Considering all the options, all they had to do was quietly back out and let this madness be between the rival gang members.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Youhei screamed at both groups. "Are you really here to defile a cemetery with something as vulgar as a gang fight? Is that how you honor your dead?"

"Who the hell are you?" someone yelled.

"I'm Sunohara Youhei. I am the guy that asked Miyazawa Yukine to marry me." Youhei didn't back down and yelled back at them, "We came here to honor her brother. She was holding it together until she saw you clowns… You made my girlfriend cry. And that… is unforgivable!" Yukine was holding onto his jacket as he took a step toward them, but it was one of the gang members voices that made him stop.

"We didn't come here to fight." a tough looking figure stepped out from the group on the left and said, "I'm Sasaki. I just wanted to come see if it was true. That… Kazuto is really dead."

"And what if it is true?" someone on the right yelled, "I suppose you think you can just walk in here and take over now?"

"Nobody is fighting over anything today!" Youhei yelled at both groups, "This is hallowed ground, if you're not here to pay your respects – you should just leave!"

"Aw, shut the hell up twerp!" A rock came flying from the direction of the voice. It missed Youhei but it struck Tomoya in the chest. Tomoya knew he could have dodged the rock, but it might have hit Kotomi. Tomoya went down on his knee while clutching his pained chest.

Before another word was spoken, a thunderclap sound echoed off all the stone monuments. The thug that had thrown the rock was knocked several meters from where he had been standing and was quite unconscious. After only a moment of looking around, all eyes were now on the girl whose upper torso seemed to be entirely enveloped in a dark aura and her eyes glowed red with rage.

Some of the gang members started to pull out knives until Tomoyo stood beside the girl with the demonic dark aura and revealed herself.

"I would advise against that." Tomoyo said after pulling off the hat and scarf and letting her long platinum blond hair blow in the gentle November wind.

"Oh crap!" several voices muttered.

"That's Sakagami Tomoyo." other's said.

"If that's Sakagami, who is the demon-bitch?"

BOOM! Thud. Another gang member was sprawled out on the ground.

"For health reasons," Youhei told them, "I suggest you call her Demon Princess. She is less likely to kill you and devour your soul if you show a little respect."

"All of you, stop it!" Sasaki cried out. "The next one of you idiot's that does something stupid will face me. And when I'm done with you, I'll hand you over to the Demon Princess and Sakagami!" As soon as the murmuring had died down he turned back to Youhei and Yukine. "Yukine-san, I personally never needed your help, but a lot of my boys did. You were always kind to them and would help anyone that was in pain. I didn't come here to cause you any suffering and I really didn't come here to fight. I'm sorry that things ended up like this. Your brother… Kazuto was a great fighter. He was legendary. I had always wanted to fight him to see which one of us was the real winner. Even though we may have been rivals, I always had a great respect for your brother." Sasaki turned to leave and one after another, his gang started to leave as well.

"Prove it!" Youhei challenged.

"Youhei, you idiot!" Tomoyo hissed, "Just be quiet and let them leave."

"What did you say, runt!" Sasaki stopped walking and his fists clenched, but he didn't turn around to face Youhei.

"Kazuto didn't want to fight you. He wanted to make peace." Youhei told the gang leader. "He was tired of seeing his friends getting hurt. More than anything, he wanted to find a way to end this stupid fighting once and for all. It was his dying wish."

Yukine was reduced to tears at the harsh reminder of her brother's last moments. Kotomi knelt with her and held onto the sobbing girl. Kotomi may have had problems reading a lot of human emotions, but loss was one she understood all too well.

"What do you want from me?" Sasaki had turned to face Youhei when he heard of Kazuto's dream.

"You wanted to see if you were better than Kazuto?" Youhei challenged the thug leader, "Show me that you can do what he couldn't do. He dreamed of ending the fighting. Let's see if you can make it happen."

"Hmpf." Sasaki looked at Youhei for a moment longer then turned and left with his gang.

Many members of Kazuto's old gang wandered off but a few came to apologize to Yukine for desecrating her brother's resting place. One or two of them asked Youhei if he was interested in being in the gang. Youhei declined but asked them to consider a peaceful solution if Sasaki made any real effort to stop the violence.

When those gang members left, Yukine stood at her family's monument and wept for her brother. She told them of how he cared for her when she was young and how proud he had been when she was accepted into the Hikarizaka High School. It had been a very somber occasion for them as he had been the only family she had left.

"What?" Youhei was puzzled when she mentioned that she had no family left, "But…"

"It will be okay, Youhei-kun." Yukine told him, "I will get a job and find a place to live that is near enough that we can still see each other from time to time."

"No, no… I…"Youhei hadn't realized how tenuous Yukine's school life had been and was now mortified at how fast it was unraveling. Yukine had become his life, his reason for trying so hard… without her, what was the point. Without her…

"Yukine-chan," Kotomi cut into Youhei's panic and asked Yukine, "have you already told the school that you are dropping out?"

"No, not yet." Yukine answered.

"Then, may I suggest that you consider moving into the Okazaki house?" Kotomi offered.

"Good idea." Tomoya agreed, "Since it was your friends that rebuilt it, I can't think of a better use of the place than to let you live there."

"Tomoya-senpai, Kotomi-senpai," Yukine asked, "Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden."

"I had made no plans for that place." Tomoya told her. "If you're living there, I can rest assured that it is taken care of. In a way, you would be doing me a favor."

"Thank you very much, Tomoya-senpai." Yukine bowed and promised, "I will do my best to care for the Okazaki residence."

.

 **Wednesday afternoon, November 19 – Okazaki [Shino] residence**

* * *

Almost two weeks later in November, Kyou and Kotomi traveled North to Hokkaido with Tomoya again. This time, Tomoyo went with them and seemed to enjoy the snow covered fields and brisk winds of the northern island. The trip was to celebrate his grandmother - Okazaki Shino's birthday… and to check up on Tomoya's father. It was the first time Tomoya had seen his father since the wedding and he was pleased with the changes he saw. Okazaki Naoyuki had stopped drinking and was getting proper treatment for the pain in his back and hips. More importantly, it was the first time they had been able to have a meaningful conversation in a very long time. During the birthday party, Tomoya met other relatives that he had never met before. There was nothing as close as an aunt or an uncle, but there were some more distant cousins. Some of them remembered Naoyuki, but none of them had ever heard that he had a son. Assumptions were made when they found out that – like his father, he had already married before completing high school. Those assumptions were shattered and impressions changed when they heard that he was going to study abroad with his new wife.

The family had a lot of questions for the couple and it didn't take long for Kotomi to become exhausted from all the interaction. She was asleep in moments after she lay down on a couch with her head on Kyou's lap. Kyou petted Kotomi's head as she brushed the long purple hair out of her friend's face and comforted her while continuing to answer questions on her friend's behalf.

Tomoyo was in the kitchen with several of Tomoya's aunts, or cousins, or… whoever they were. It sounded like they were having a splendid time teaching the teenager how to cook with local ingredients. Suddenly encountering all these relatives was getting to be too much for Tomoya. He grabbed his jacket and decided to get some air.

Tomoya was sitting on the back steps of the old country house and looking at the field and bordering tree's under the season's first snow… well, the first snow that stuck to the ground anyways. The long rolling snow covered field with the mountains in the distant background seemed disturbingly familiar. For a moment, he thought he could imagine a version of himself in heavy winter clothing waving back at him from the snowy field. The daydream was broken when Tomoya heard the creaking of the wooden steps as someone approached him.

"Hey." a girl sat down next to Tomoya on the steps and handed him a hot drink in a thick mug.

"Hey… Yuki-chan right?" Tomoya tried to remember as many names as he could, but there were so many people here that he didn't know. "I'm Tomoya."

"Everybody knows who you are." the girl smirked, "But yeah, I'm Yuki. Just: Yuki."

Tomoya took a sip of the hot drink then looked into the mug to see what he was drinking. The warm liquid felt good going down, but it tasted sweet and fruity and… seemed to have a bit of a bite to it. It almost seemed like it might be…

"You're not used to plum wine?" Yuki asked.

"I'm a minor." Tomoya said as an explanation.

"I am too." Yuki laughed, "Things are a little different out here than they are close to Tokyo. This stuff is produced by our family, so we get to drink it at home."

"Oh." Tomoya took another sip and swished the warm liquid around in his mouth. The flavor was enjoyable but it wasn't something he would go out of his way for.

"So, you're really married?" Yuki asked.

"Yup," Tomoya held up his hand to show off the ring, "Got the ring and the piece of paper, so I guess it's real."

"You don't sound too thrilled about it." Yuki pointed out.

"I am." Tomoya gazed out at the strangely familiar landscape and said, "It still… seems like a dream to me somehow."

"Wow." Yuki looked at the ring and said, "My mom is going on and on about how your wife is some kind of genius or something."

"She is a genius." Tomoya said as he sipped the hot drink.

"Oh yeah?" Yuri seemed to be getting upset for some reason, "Well, my boyfriend is a genius too! When the teacher was out with a cold, they let him teach the class."

"Really? That does sound pretty impressive." Tomoya smiled and pulled out his cell phone.

"It won't work." Yuki said as she enviously looked at the interesting piece of technology in Tomoya's hand, "They don't have any towers out here yet."

"It's okay," Tomoya scrolled through the pictures on the phone while he said, "I just wanted to show you something." He handed the phone to her and the screen was showing a picture of an impressive, if old looking building. "Do you know what that is?"

"No." Defensively, Yuki added, "I'm not familiar with buildings in Tokyo!"

"That's Hokkaido University in Sapporo." Tomoya said levelly.

"Oh." Yuki looked at the building again since it was the place that she might go some day.

"Now, hit that button to go to the next picture." Tomoya knew the pictures by heart and waited to hear the swish sound that his phone made when it advanced to the next picture in its memory.

Swish!

"That is a picture of the large auditorium at the university." Tomoya took another sip of the warm drink from the thick mug.

Swish!

"All the people you see in that picture are grad students, professors, and scientists." He added, "There is a close-up picture of the people on stage in the next picture."

Swish!

He knew she was recognizing Kotomi as the girl at the podium with Tomoya and Kyou close behind her. "She is giving a lecture on string theory to all the people in the room."

"What's string theory?" Yuki asked.

"No clue." Tomoya admitted to his cousin, "But all those sciency types sure did. They asked her a lot of questions. It was all I could do to keep her from hyperventilating with so many people crowding around her."

"Wow… I guess she really is a genius." Yuki looked at the picture a little closer and saw the date stamp on it. "This summer? You were in Hokkaido this summer and you didn't stop by to see your family?"

"Hey," Tomoya explained, "until this trip, I didn't know I had any family besides my dad and grandmother."

"Huh?" Yuki looked stunned, "Your dad never told you that you had family up here?"

"I get the feeling that the family kind of wrote him off when he married my mother at such a young age." Tomoya looked down at his drink, "I guess he wrote the family off too."

"That's just wrong!" Yuki stood up and seemed to be unusually mad about something that happened so long ago.

"Is it?" Tomoya challenged her, "I don't recall any family ever visiting us in my whole life."

"Oh… sorry." Yuki sat back down again and stared at the picture of the purple haired girl speaking into a microphone with Tomoya and Kyou behind her, looking calm and… cool.

"I doubt we would have had time to visit anyway." Tomoya said, "As soon as the seminar was over we were on a flight to Okinawa."

"What? Okinawa!" Yuki said in disbelief.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

"Ah!" Yuki got to the first of the Okinawa vacation pictures. She was quiet for a while as she went through a few dozen pictures. Yuki looked longingly at shot after shot of warm beaches, Kotomi and Tomoya on zip-lines, scuba diving, Kyou on a surf board, shrines and castles, Tomoya and Kyou fishing on a boat, and a luxurious hotel. "I don't see the blond girl in these pictures."

"Tomoyo-chan?" Tomoya explained, "She didn't come with us on that trip."

"I would have gone with you." Yuki pouted.

"What about your boyfriend?" Tomoya asked as he considered getting another mug of this warm drink.

"My boyfriend?" Yuki looked over at Tomoya and saw the smirk on his face. She knew he had figured it out. "He's not really my boyfriend. He's just a boy in my class. I like him but… he doesn't even know who I am."

"Does he have a girlfriend?" Tomoya asked.

"No." Yuki answered wistfully.

"What club is he in?" Tomoya asked another question about her crush.

"He's in the astronomy club." she sighed.

"Are there any other girls in the astronomy club?" Tomoya prodded her.

"Um… no." Yuki now wondered, "At least, I don't think there are."

"Do you have an interest in astronomy?" Tomoya raised an eyebrow.

"No, not really." Yuki didn't get the hint.

"Oh?" Tomoya saw that she wasn't getting the hint and thought about some of the conversations that made him realize that he had a history of being oblivious too. _I wonder if it's genetic?_ "Shall I tell you bluntly what you should do?"

"Huh?" Yuki finally understood what Tomoya was talking about. "Yes! What do you think I should do?"

"Go buy a book on astronomy. Read it until you know enough about astronomy that you don't think you'll look like an idiot when you talk to someone that does. Then join the astronomy club and make sure you go to every club activity that he goes to." Tomoya reached for his phone back.

"I get it." Yuki said as she handed back the phone, "but what if it turns out that he doesn't like me or I find out that I don't like him after all?"

"Then you will have at least learned something about astronomy." Tomoya smiled.

"You're right!" Yuki laughed. The laughing ended all too soon with another long sigh. "You're pretty cool, Tomoya-san. I wish I had known you when I was growing up."

"Yeah, me too." Tomoya decided to go back inside and get out of the cold. He stood and offered Yuki a hand to get up as well.

.

 **Satur** **day,** **Nov** **ember** **22** **–** **Okazaki** **residence**

* * *

The weekend after coming back from Hokkaido, Tomoya, Kyou, and Tomoyo helped Youhei move out of the dormitory and into the Okazaki house with Yukine. Kotomi, Ryou, and Nagisa busied themselves with preparing lunch and helping Yukine put things away. When there was a moment of privacy between the two old friends, Youhei confided to Tomoya that he was worried if he was doing the right thing. Tomoya understood his concern but before he could answer Yukine found them with a tray of drinks and snacks. When she looked up into Youhei's face and smiled, Tomoya saw a vision of pure happiness on Yukine's face. Youhei may still have concerns, but the joy on Yukine's face at that moment did wonders to dispel any doubts that Tomoya had.

.

 **Wednes** **day** **afternoon** **,** **Dec** **ember** **24** **–** **Furukawa** **residence**

* * *

After a half a day of school that marked the beginning of the winter break, the friends met at the Furukawa Bakery to celebrate Nagisa's birthday. Despite it being her birthday party, the Furukawa living room had the Christmas Tree up and was festively decorated for the holidays.

 _I guess it can't be helped when your birthday is this close to a major holiday._ Kyou thought. She was thinking about how she would deal with having a child with a birthday on or near a major holiday and suddenly squashed that thought. _Idiot, you'll forever be the '...and_ _their friend_ _Kyou' in this relationship with Tomoya and Kotomi so just forget about ever having any children of your own!_

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi took Kyou's arm, "Is something wrong? You looked distressed."

"Oh," Kyou didn't quite lie to her friend, "I was just thinking about how difficult it would be to raise a child with a birthday so close to a major holiday."

"I think it will be difficult no matter when the child is born." Kotomi countered.

"I suppose you're right." Kyou chuckled.

"I am so happy that you will be there to help me when that time comes." Kotomi smiled at her friend.

"Eh?" Kyou staggered.

"I am afraid that I would not be able to do it alone, but with your more advanced social skills and your natural maternal instincts, I believe I can do it with you!" Kotomi sounded excited… as if she was ready to start at this very moment.

"Whoa, slow down tiger!" Kyou told her awkward friend, "There are a lot of things that need to happen between now and when you have a child."

"Children." Kotomi corrected.

"Eh?" Kyou was stunned that the only part of what she said that Kotomi commented on was the numeric tense of one word.

"I will have more than one." Kotomi explained.

"Okay… so Kotomi-chan wants to have a large family?" Kyou asked.

"You grew up with a sister, I did not." Kotomi put the question back on Kyou, "Do you not think that it is better to have siblings?"

"Yes…" Kyou looked across the room at her smiling sister, Ryou. There had been times they had disagreed and even fought, but she wouldn't ever wish that Ryou had not been around. "You win, Kotomi-chan. Having a big family is better."

"Excellent!" Kotomi smiled, "Then I can count on you to help give Tomoya-kun a big happy family."

"Eh?" Kyou wanted to hear Kotomi explain that last comment but the conversation in the room had turned to what everyone was planning to do after they graduated and Sanae-san was calling on Kotomi to announce her plans.

"I believe all of you know that Tomoya, Kyou, and I will be leaving to study abroad in America soon." Kotomi told them, "I plan to stay and get my Doctoral degree before I move back to Japan. Eventually, I would like to continue my parent's work in pane theory."

"Pain theory?" Ryou asked.

"Not pain, Ryou-chan. She's talking about the multidimensional parallel universe stuff… nothing that needs a band-aid." Tomoya explained.

"A band-aid?" Kotomi's eyes opened wide as if she was just reminded of something and seemed to withdraw from the conversation to consider all the possibilities.

"Nagisa and I are going to the same college!" Ryou announced happily.

"Akio came through and was able to get both of them into our alma-matter." Sanae smiled.

"I will be studying theater and Ryou will be in the pre-med track." Nagisa boasted.

"So, you're still planning to become a nurse?" Tomoyo asked.

"No," Ryou said timidly, "after all I've seen this year, I changed my mind and I want to be a doctor."

"All right Ryou!"

"You can do it!"

"I'll bet your parents are so proud…" Sanae stopped when she saw the stricken look on Ryou's face. Then she remembered the conversation about how disappointed the Fujibayashi parents were with Kyou for such low aspirations.

"It's okay." Kyou caught the nervous glances but laughed it off, "Daddy's happy now that I'll be studying abroad with Kotomi-chan and Tomoya-kun."

"That's wonderful, Kyou-chan!" Sanae clapped her hands, "But I must say that I'm surprised that your father is okay with you going half way around the world to live in the same house with such an attractive and naughty young man."

"Mom!" Nagisa cried out. Others were equally surprised that Sanae-san would say something like that.

"Naughty?" Tomoya gulped.

"Naughty and mean too." Sanae pouted, "You go gallivanting about the country with two or three beautiful girls and you never take me along! I'd like to take a trip with an attractive young man too, you know."

Nagisa covered her face in embarrassment while everyone else was left stunned wondering whether they should laugh or not.

"Sanae, what are you saying?" Akio asked his wife, "I'm still attractive! You think I'm still attractive, don't you Sanae?"

Everyone in the room was now laughing as they recognized the antics of Nagisa's parents. Well, everyone except Nagisa, who was still blushing from embarrassment and hiding behind her hands. Ryou hugged Nagisa to her and let her know that everything was okay.

"Kyou-chan," Tomoyo asked, "I am curious about your choices. What do you plan to study?"

"Kotomi-chan told me that I can work on two degrees, so I want to shoot for a teaching degree for secondary education and either a science or mathematics." Kyou announced.

"Secondary education?" Sanae asked, "I thought you wanted to become a Kindergarten teacher?"

"I did." Kyou sighed, "But recent developments in my life have made the reasons for that somewhat… redundant." Kyou could see that her explanation seemed to create more questions and decided to take action before she was forced to talk about her agreement to help raise Kotomi's children. "Tomoya-kun! What about you?"

"Oh yeah," Tomoya looked around and it seemed that everyone except his wife was eager to hear his plans. Then again, Kotomi already knew them. "I'll be going to the same University as Kyou-chan. I haven't really figured out what I want to major in just yet. I took one of those aptitude tests and it seems that I would do well in Engineering or Law…"

"Law!" Youhei laughed hard.

"What's the matter, Sunohara?" Tomoyo sounded almost acidic, "You don't think he could do it?"

"Oh no, it's not that!" Youhei caught his breath, "It's just that I'm trying to get into the National Police Academy. And now Tomoya says he might be studying Law! Wouldn't it be weird if we ended up working together some day?"

"Or against each other." Kyou quipped, "He might end up being the defense attorney that gets people freed on technicalities because you keep screwing up." Kyou was about to share a victory glance with Tomoyo but…

"Kyou-senpai…" Yukine looked devastated at the jab to the one she loved.

"I'm sorry, Yukine-chan." Kyou bowed, "I was just teasing. I'm so used to trading barbs with Youhei that I…"

"It's okay," Youhei smiled. He saw that his girlfriend was about to object, so he admitted, "I believe I gave Kyou the last barb before that one. If I remember correctly, I called her an insufferable braggart with a prima donna complex. That was before the summer break and I have to admit that Kyou has changed… for the better." Turning to his girlfriend, he told her, "I promise that I will no longer describe her that way."

"Youhei-kun, please forgive me." Kyou now bowed to Youhei and admitted, "I have watched you change for the better as well and… you did not deserve that barb."

"Enough! Enough!" Youhei laughed to break the heavy mood and said, "I want to know what Tomoyo-chan is going to do?"

"Me?" Tomoyo jumped, "But I still have a year of high school left."

"I know, but when you do graduate… what are your plans?" Youhei pushed.

"Well, I've done a lot with civic organizations to save the Sakura trees this year and I did enjoy the effort." Tomoyo said, "I think I would like to go to Hokkaido University and study political science." Turning to the other second year student in the room Tomoyo asked, "Have you made any plans, Yukine?"

"Oh, I don't know." Yukine smiled around the room then up at Youhei, "Like Tomoyo-chan I still have another year of high school to decide. Right now I feel like I would like to be a nurse, a cook, or a housewife and mother."

Everyone else in the room was smiling or laughing while they watched Youhei's blush go all the way to his ears. It was at that moment that Akio decided to press the button on the remote for the camera to take the group picture.

Click!

"Akio-saaaaaaan!" Youhei wailed.

.

 **Wednes** **day** **afternoon** **,** **Dec** **ember** **31** **–** **Ichinose residence**

* * *

"That was a splendid lunch, Tomoyo." Kyou said as she helped clear away the dishes. "Alas, I believe your cooking has finally surpassed mine."

"Please." Tomoyo laughed, "You could have done that much in your sleep."

"It's good to see the two of them getting along…" Tomoya was saying to Kotomi, but when he turned – she was not in her chair. "Eh?" He was about to get up to go look for her when she came back into the room with four garment boxes.

"I had hoped that we could take another vacation together during the winter break," Kotomi said to her friends, "but with all that is still left to do, I'm afraid there isn't time."

Tomoya looked down. He knew that some of the reason was that he was still furiously studying to keep up with Kotomi's tutoring. The other reason was that Kotomi and Kyou had to get everything packed for their trip. The moving people would be there in three days and they would be boarding their flight a few days later. Tomoya didn't want to think of the two months that he would be without their company.

"If you don't mind," Kotomi handed the garment boxes out to Tomoya, Kyou, and Tomoyo, "I would like to offer these gifts and ask that you join me for a Shrine visit this evening for the new year celebration."

"Eh?" Kyou opened the box to find a Kimono.

"These are Homongi Kimonos!" Tomoyo had already pulled hers out of the box and was looking at the detailed patterns of flowers that flowed up from the hem in the front, over the left shoulder, and down the back. "It's beautiful!"

All three of the girl's kimono's were of a bold red base with patterns of flowers, butterflies, and birds. Even before they put them on, they could see distinct differences in the patterns on each garment. The flowers, birds, and butterflies were different and the patterns themselves flowed differently from one garment to the next. Tomoya's kimono was of the traditional black and gray for a man's kimono, but the lining on the haori jacket matched the patterned red of the girl's kimonos.

Kyou felt the rich texture of the beautiful garment in her fingers and closed her eyes. She wanted to tell Kotomi that such a gift was too much. But she knew that Kotomi would misinterpret any attempt to not accept the gift. It would take a lot of explaining to convince her that there was nothing wrong with their friendship. And, after all that, Kotomi would still insist that the gift should be accepted. Kyou glanced up at Tomoya and Tomoyo and got reassuring nods of agreement from both of them. It seemed that they had all come to the same conclusion. _Very well then…_

"Kotomi-chan," Kyou bowed, "I graciously accept this lovely gift and I would be honored to make the shrine visit with you."

.

 **Wednes** **day** **night** **,** **Dec** **ember** **31** **–** **Shrine Park**

* * *

The shrine visit was, for the most part, without incident. The weather was cold, but not bitterly so. The layering of the Kimono's was enough to keep them warm. They ran into classmates and friends as they waited in line to make their prayers and wishes for the new year. Tomoya watched a happy Kotomi throughout the celebration and was fascinated with her contrasting persona. She was so steeped in science and discovery, and yet she was enamored with ancient customs and beliefs. Tomoya doubted that he would ever fully understand his multifaceted bride. _Then again, does anyone ever really fully understand anyone else… or even themselves? Whoa, that was pretty deep. Maybe I'm getting caught up in the moment too._

Tomoya did not see the stricken look on Kyou's face when she read the fortune she purchased at the shrine. She slapped the strip of paper to the nearest pine tree and quickly walked away from it. After a distraught Kyou turned to leave, a gentle breeze blew the fortune down from the pine tree. Having been tossed around on the ground for a few minutes by the lightly gusting breezes, the fortune came to rest under a bush where it would remain until the spring rains would eventually destroy the paper. Underneath the bush, the offending strip of paper was unnoticed but had opened up so that it could be read.

*** Greatest Curse

*** Romance

*** A good friend's tragedy will requite your greatest desire.


	25. Chapter 25 - Her Plan

**Mon** **day** **morning** **,** **January** **5** **–** **Train Station**

* * *

Both Kyou and Kotomi had only a single carry-on bag each for the long flight from Japan to America. The rest of their things had been shipped ahead and would be at the house waiting for them when they got there. Such foresight had been the gift of Kobayashi Jun who had made long trips like this many times in his life. Gathered at the train station to send them off were several of their friends.

"Are you sure you don't want us to see you off at the airport?" Tomoya asked Kotomi.

"Thank you but no, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi smiled, "We will be all right from here."

"I can't believe I'm not going to see you for two months." Tomoya said as he hugged his wife to his chest. "I'm missing you already."

"But I'm right here." A confused Kotomi said from the comfort of Tomoya's chest. Tomoya laughed but held her tight.

"I am going to miss your cooking." Kyou said to Tomoyo.

"Just my cooking?" Tomoyo's eyebrow raised as a challenge to Kyou's comment.

"Well, I'll miss the workouts and doing the morning run with you." Kyou looked like she was trying to remember something, "Chatting over coffee. Doing homework together. Shopping…" Kyou stopped and, turning her face away from Tomoyo, said, "But that's it. If I admitted to missing anything else, people would start to think we were friends."

"Gods forbid." Tomoyo answered Kyou's silliness with a knowing smile.

"Now, promise me you'll take good care of Tomoya-kun while we're…" Kyou tapered off. She had been trying not to think about how far away she would be from Tomoya… from home… from Ryou.

"Oh yes," Tomoyo smiled so much she appeared to be baring her teeth, "I'll be taking _good_ care of Tomoya while you're… not around."

"Eh… what?" Kyou looked at the feral grin on the powder blond's face as she turned away. "What does that mean?"

"Sorry," Tomoyo waved merrily as she walked away, "I have to say my farewells to Kotomi now."

"What?" Kyou turned her eyes from the departing Tomoyo to her sister and asked, "What did that mean?"

"I'm not sure." Ryou was also watching the departing Tomoyo, "She doesn't usually joke like that. Has she been learning how to tease from Tomoya-kun?"

"Yeah… that's what that was." Kyou was having second thoughts about leaving now. She shook her head and smiled at her sister. She had planned on telling her sister how much she was going to miss her too, but she found herself unable to bring up the words. Ryou too seemed speechless. One moment they were looking into each other's watery eyes – then they were embracing and crying.

"I don't want you to go!" Ryou cried into her twin sister's shoulder.

"I'll be back next winter, I promise!" Kyou tried to appease the sadness and guilt of leaving her sister behind like this, but not much remained to be said. Over the last several months, everything had been considered, discussed, and planned for. All of this was just emotion now. Still, emotion is a powerful thing. "Promise me you'll do well at your college!"

"I will!" Ryou vowed. She had easily been accepted into the Furukawa's alma mater in the pre-med program. Nagisa would be studying theatrics and political science at the same university. Both of them would be moving out of the area as well since the college was in another prefecture. To their great happiness, Akio had managed to get them in the same dorm room. Ryou then demanded of Kyou, "And, you have to do your best at your college too!"

"I will!" Kyou felt confident that she would do well. Kotomi had made out a study program to prepare her, and she would be there to help both Kyou and Tomoya if they needed it. "I know you'll be looking after Nagisa-chan, but will you look in on Tomoya and make sure… everything is okay there?"

"Onee-chan, you worry too much!" Ryou chastised her older sister, "Tomoya-kun wouldn't cheat on Kotomi-chan."

"Yeah… you're right." Kyou smiled but bit her lip from saying any more. She still hadn't told her sister just how close she had become to Tomoya. Of course, that was all with Kotomi's blessing… indeed, it had even been with Kotomi's encouragement. _So… it wasn't really cheating then… was it?_ The question she had asked herself a thousand times, she found that she was still asking herself. Whether it was cheating or not, the flames of her love for Tomoya had only ever been fanned by Kotomi and Kyou was no longer willing or able to let him go. _Oh Kotomi, I don't know why you're doing this but I don't care anymore. I just hope you never change your mind and throw me out in the cold._

Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the call for the train that would take the two girls away on their next great adventure. Final hugs were made, there was a flurry of waving hands and… they were gone.

As Tomoya and his friends left the train station, Youhei suggested they all go to a family restaurant and have breakfast together. Several of them had already eaten, but they were willing to have some coffee and stay for the camaraderie. Tomoyo walked next to Tomoya and looked at the folded note that Kotomi had thrust into her hand when they had said their goodbyes. It was sealed and had Tomoyo's name in Kotomi's elegant handwriting.

.

At the family restaurant, Tomoyo sat with her legs drawn up and sipped at her coffee while opening Kotomi's note. There was a lively conversation going on at the table, but Tomoyo's curiosity got the better of her as she withdrew from the conversation and quietly read the note in her hand.

.

 _Greetings Tomoyo-chan,_

 _Thank you very much for agreeing to stay at my house and watch over Tomoya-kun until he has graduated and is able to join us. As we had previously discussed, you are welcome to stay in the Ichinose house during your final High School year if it is convenient for you._

 _A few notes on Tomoya-kun:_

 _1\. When you sleep with him, there are two positions that he seems to favor. If he lies on his back, rest your head on his shoulder, lay your arm across his chest, and throw your leg across his legs. If he lays on his side, he will want to pull you in close and wrap you in his arms. I find both positions to be very comforting and I am able to sleep restfully either way._

 _2\. Also, no matter what Sunohara-san says, Tomoya-kun does not like his underwear starched and ironed. Youhei-kun may be adamant on this point, but I assure you he is quite mistaken. I experimented for some time do determine the correct amount of starch and the answer was: none at all._

 _Thank you again,_

 _Kotomi-chan_

.

Tomoyo had just taken a sip of her coffee when she got to the 'notes' section. Some of the coffee sprayed out of her mouth and nose onto Youhei who was sitting across from her. Unfortunately, her own gasping and choking meant she was not able to enjoy Youhei's surprise and discomfort.

.

 **Mon** **day** **afternoon** **,** **January** **5** **–** **From** **Boarding to** **12** **kilo** **meters over the Pacific Ocean**

* * *

This was not the first time on and airplane for either of the girls, but it was the first time on something this big. When viewing them far up in the sky, they all have the familiar shape and don't look so different, but this plane was monstrous compared to the aircraft they had been on for their Okinawan vacation.

 _Then again, it makes sense that it would be larger since it is flying half way around the world._ Kyou was able to still think rationally – unlike her purple haired friend who was only able to take one step after another because she was clinging to Kyou's hand. _I hope Kotomi will be okay. She is already more frightened than I thought she would be and we haven't even got to our seats yet._ Kyou was worried. Tomoya wasn't here so it would be entirely up to her to calm Kotomi down when the plane started moving. She believed that she understood why Kotomi would be more frightened this time than their previous flight. It was, after all, on a long distance international flight when her parents had died.

When the stewardess looked at their tickets, she escorted them into the first class section. Kyou didn't know they had first class tickets until that moment and was pleasantly surprised until she saw the seats. Her pleasant surprise turned into despair as she realized the problem with the seats. Although they were incredibly luxurious and able to recline into a small bed for this long flight, there was a partition wall between each seat for privacy… Kyou wouldn't be able to hold Kotomi's hand. Kotomi would be alone!

"Miss?" Kyou called out to the stewardess, "There must be a mistake! We have to sit together." Kyou rolled her eyes back to Kotomi who was almost completely unresponsive behind her. She was considering asking if they could trade their seats with someone that was not in first class.

"I see." The stewardess smiled as she looked at the two young girls. She could tell that the petrified girl relied entirely on her friend for courage. Reviewing the tickets to remember their names, she noticed the special symbol on the ticket for Ichinose Kotomi that indicated a VIP. "Don't worry, I can fix this. Just have your friend sit here and wait next to her. I will be right back."

A few minutes later, some men in airline jumpsuits appeared with some tools and in only seconds they had removed the partition wall and carried it away. Kotomi looked terrified that part of the seat that she was sitting in seemed to be coming apart.

"Kotomi, look at me!" Kyou could feel her friends building fear by the way her hand was being painfully squeezed. Kotomi did as Kyou told her and soon her fearful gaze was turned toward her lone beacon of courage. Kyou said as softly and calmly as she could, "It's okay. They took that part away so we could hold hands during the flight. You want to hold my hand, don't you?"

Kotomi tried to speak but nothing would come out. She nodded her head so hard that her hair was flying around like a purple maelstrom.

Much to the stewardesses chagrin, instead of letting go of Kotomi's hand and walking around to the proper entrance to her seat, Kyou climbed over Kotomi and the console area. She was able to get into her seat and even get her seat-belt on with one hand, all the while never letting go of her friend's hand. Considering how terrified the young VIP seemed to be, she decided that the lavender haired girl had probably come to the only real option. The stewardess knew that these two were too young for alcoholic drinks, so she decided to get them reclined for sleep as soon as they were at cruising altitude.

.

Kyou heard the chime and saw the light go off that indicated that they were leveling off and it was safe to unfasten their seat belts and move about the cabin. Unfortunately, that was not an option for her at the moment. Kyou grunted at the relentless shooting pain in her hand.

"Kotomi." Kyou called out to her friend sitting next to her. Kotomi's eyes were open, but she was as rigid as a statue.

"Kotomi!" Kyou called out a bit louder. Then she remembered the key to getting through to the purple haired girl when she was like this.

"Kotomi-chan!" Kyou was thrilled to see a reaction on her friend's previously inanimate features.

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi said softly as if she were afraid a louder voice would break something.

"Kotomi-chan, you are crushing my hand." Kyou couldn't free her hand from Kotomi's death-grip without causing permanent damage to herself or to Kotomi. As Kotomi turned to look at Kyou, a single tear could be seen running down the face of the petrified girl genius.

"I'm sorry Kyou-chan." Kotomi asked, "What can I do?"

"Let go of my hand!" Kyou pleaded.

Kotomi said nothing but kept looking at Kyou as if she might suddenly disappear if Kotomi turned her head or blinked. Unfortunately, she didn't loosen her vice-like grip on Kyou's hand.

"Try talking about something." Kyou winced at the pain.

"About what?" Kotomi asked.

"Teach me something. Tell me something new. Tell me something I don't know." Kyou was so desperate, she would even listen to Kotomi's dissertation on string theory if that would help.

"Something you don't know, Kyou-chan?" Kotomi asked.

"Yes." Kyou tried to flex her throbbing fingers but it just felt like they were crushed again, but from different angles.

"Promise you won't get mad at me, Kyou-chan?" Kotomi's demeanor seemed to change and her grip relaxed a bit.

"Yes, yes I promise!" Kyou could feel the blood going back into her hand, "I promise I won't get mad at you. Please… tell me something I don't know."

"Kyou-chan… I'm pregnant." Kotomi said evenly.

"That's nice… WHAT!" Kyou shouted loudly enough that nearby passengers were turning to see what the commotion was all about. Whether it was the revelation or the shout, Kotomi finally let go of Kyou's hand and covered her face.

"You promised you wouldn't get mad at me!" Kotomi bawled from behind her hands.

"I'm not mad! I'm not mad." Kyou said emphatically as she flexed her hand to get the feeling back into her fingers. As soon as she was able to, Kyou reached out and took Kotomi's hands down from her face. "I'm just very shocked. I had no idea. When… I mean, how far along are you?"

"Four months." Kotomi answered.

"Four months?" Kyou was in disbelief.

"Yes." Kotomi looked down at where Kyou was holding her hands, "Kyou-chan, did I do something wrong?"

"No." Kyou made Kotomi look her in the eyes, "You did nothing wrong, Kotomi-chan. You are his wife and he is your husband. If a married couple can't have a child, then who can?"

"Thank you, Kyou-chan!" Kotomi leaned into Kyou's shoulder and finally started to relax.

"Kotomi-chan, have you told Tomoya-kun yet?" Kyou asked.

"No," Kotomi seemed to think about it and said, "I was afraid to. I am worried that he might not be pleased with me."

"Kotomi-chan, do you trust my intuition regarding Tomoya?" Kyou spoke seriously as she looked deep into Kotomi's purple eyes.

"Yes, Kyou-chan," Kotomi seemed like she was about to cry as she answered, "It is one of the many reasons that I rely on you so much."

"Then trust me on this," Kyou said plainly, "Tomoya-kun will NOT be upset when you tell him. He may be shocked, but he will not be upset."

"Thank you, Kyou-chan! That makes me so happy!" Kotomi hugged Kyou for a moment then asked her friend, "I suppose I should tell him as soon as we land, right?"

"Ye… no." Kyou looked down. She hated the lie-of-omission that she was about to recommend to Kotomi, but…

"I should not tell him?" Kotomi was a bit surprised that Kyou-chan wouldn't want her to be truthful with her husband at the next opportunity. It did seem like the logical and ethical thing to do. She was eager to learn what Kyou-chan's justification would be for this aberrant advice.

"I am worried that if you tell him now, he will suddenly feel the weight of responsibility and…" Kyou took a deep breath as she thought through the flash of insight that she got when she changed her mind from answering 'Yes' to answering 'No.' "I am worried that the responsibility will weigh heavily on him and make him do something stupid." When Kotomi gave her a curious look, Kyou was more specific as she said, "He might give up on going to college and run off to get a job and immediately start working. He would ruin his future."

"Oh my, I hadn't considered that possibility." Kotomi took Kyou-chan's concern and used what she knew of Tomoya-kun's personality to see if she thought there was a chance that he might do what Kyou-chan was suggesting. In moments, she had come to a conclusion… and a decision. "I believe the probability of that scenario is low, but… not low enough that it can be discounted. I believe Tomoya will be upset with both of us when he arrives in two months and I am then six months along, but that can't be helped, can it?"

"Kotomi-chan," Kyou bit her lip for a moment then told her friend, "I will not let him get mad at you. I'll tell him that I am to blame for the secrecy, and he can be mad at me."

"No, Kyou-chan." Kotomi understood what her friend was willing to do for her, but she couldn't allow that, "It was your recommendation, but it is my decision. Besides, he must not hate you. He must continue to love you as you love him. That much is certain."

"Certain?" Kyou was dumbstruck by Kotomi's last argument, "Why Kotomi-chan? Why is it so important for Tomoya-kun to love me?" Even as Kyou asked the question, she could see that Kotomi's adrenaline was running out and she looked like she might pass out at any moment.

"The data set may be incomplete, but the probability is high." Kotomi's voice was so low that Kyou had to strain to make out the words over the background noise of the airplane's engines. "You are the key, Kyou-chan. All our futures… all our happiness… lost without you."

"What?" Kotomi was now asleep in Kyou's arms, but that left Kyou with a lot to think about. _Kotomi, what weird conclusion have you come up with? What did you mean by all that? I'm not anything special… how can I be the key to… to… anything?_ Kyou was looking for the controls to recline Kotomi's seat when the stewardess reappeared with pillows and blankets. She keyed the controls to make both seats recline into adjoining beds and covered both of the girls with blankets. Resting her head on the soft pillow, Kyou watched the girl genius sleep peacefully on the airplane that she feared so much when she was awake. _Kotomi-chan, what on Earth are you planning to do?_ Kyou wondered as she fell asleep herself.

.

 _You are a very important part of me already, Kyou-chan. I would be so lost without you._

 _All our futures… lost without you._

 _All our happiness… lost without you._

… _lost without you._

 _Greatest Curse._

 _That much is certain._

 _Romance._

 _He must continue to love you…_

 _You are the key._

… _as you love him._

 _So, if I were not around, you would marry Tomoya-kun?_

 _If something were to happen to me…_

 _A good friend's tragedy will requite your greatest desire._

Kyou slept fitfully as the jumbo-jet moved farther and farther away from Japan.

.

 **Mon** **day** **evening** **,** **January** **5** **–** **Ichinose residence**

* * *

Tomoya and Tomoyo were seated at the kitchen table in their gym clothes. They had just finished a workout session in the dojo with Youhei, Yukine, and Fuko - and had seen them off before sitting down for a drink of Tomoyo's relaxing tea blend.

"You did really well today." Tomoyo complemented Tomoya.

"Thanks." Tomoya chuckled, "Ordinarily, I'd want to celebrate if you complemented someone like me. But, I'm too exhausted. All I can think of now is bath and bed."

"Someone like you…" Tomoyo narrowed her eyes and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Tomoya explained, "I never did any martial arts training before last summer and I'm not as healthy as you are. So, to hear you say that..."

"Ah," Tomoyo's expression relaxed and she took a sip of tea as she said, "I guess that's okay then."

"What's okay?" Tomoya figured out that something was going on and was curious.

"Kyou told me to hit you hard if you started calling yourself a delinquent or said things like _someone like me_ in a depreciating manner." Tomoyo explained.

"Heh," Tomoya laughed, "Please don't do that. In fact, you don't need to follow any of Kyou's weird instructions at all."

"Oh?" Tomoyo thought of the note up in her room and asked, "What about Kotomi's weird instructions?"

"Eh?" Tomoya couldn't imagine his darling and violence-averse wife leaving any instructions for Tomoyo to beat on him for any reason.

"Meet me upstairs on the landing," Tomoyo took her mug of tea with her and headed for the stairs. A few minutes later, Tomoya was at the top of the stairs and Tomoyo handed him a folded note. "That is what Kotomi gave me just before she left on the train."

Tomoya read through the note twice and, to his credit, was able to restrain any reaction to what he read. After all, Kotomi had come up with some pretty weird ideas in the last year so this wasn't so uncharacteristic. He passed the note back to her and said only, "It's true."

"Eh?" Tomoyo had been expecting more of a reaction to what was on the note and had certainly not expected that reply. She asked, "What's true?"

"I do not like my underwear starched… not even a little bit." Tomoya was able to say with a straight face.

"Tomoya," Tomoyo took a deep breath, "you should know that I am strongly considering taking some of Kyou's advice right now."

"I'm sorry!" Tomoya threw both hands up in appeasement. He didn't know what Kyou's advice might be, but he could bet it would be painful for him.

"What do you want to do about this?" Tomoyo held up the note as she asked him.

"That is completely up to you." Tomoya told her, "I think you know how Kotomi feels on the matter so there should be no issue of impropriety or guilt. On the other hand, if you find the idea repellent, you shouldn't force yourself."

"How do you feel about it?" Tomoyo demanded an answer.

"I believe that I am now used to sleeping with someone to cuddle up to." Tomoya admitted, "I don't sleep as well when I am alone… but I would only do that with someone I like."

"Then, you do not wish to sleep with me?" Tomoyo asked.

"No, that's not what I mean. I remember the night we slept together during Kotomi's sleeping experiments and for my part," Although blushing from what he had to say, Tomoya answered truthfully, "I slept quite well. I felt very comfortable with you."

"I did too." Now Tomoyo was also blushing. She had been struggling to keep the emotion out of the conversation so this wouldn't happen, but when she saw his blush – she couldn't help herself.

.

Both of them had worried that they would not be able to sleep, but it had been a very exhausting day both physically and emotionally. Tomoya was on his side with Tomoyo pulled in and his arms protectively around her just as Kotomi had predicted. Both of them were soundly asleep several hours before Kotomi and Kyou's plane would land.

.

 **Wedne** **s** **day** **mor** **ning** **,** **January** **7** **–** **Houston residence**

* * *

 _This place is huge!_ Kyou had been too exhausted to look around on the day they arrived, but she had her energy back now. The master bedroom where she and Kotomi had collapsed had it's own attached bathroom just like the Ichinose residence in Japan, but everything was larger. There were two walk-in closets attached to the bathroom area that were each as large as her own bedroom back home at her parents' house.

The rooms were decorated in a mix of western and Japanese styles, but there were a few bedrooms that were unfurnished and a few other things that made Kyou wonder. "Kotomi-chan…"

"In English." Kotomi reminded her friend.

"Eh? I was speaking in English." Kyou put her hands on her hips and challenged her genius friend, "Isn't 'Kotomi-chan' the same in both English and Japanese?"

"English does not have any familial suffixes." Kotomi looked up from where she was putting clothes away in a drawer.

"That may be a problem." Kyou said, "Sometimes you do not respond to Kotomi without the chan."

"I don't?" Kotomi seemed stunned to hear this.

"You didn't know?" Kyou asked.

"I had no idea." Kotomi's eyes opened wide, "What will I do?"

"I don't think it will be a problem to ask everyone to call you Kotomi-chan." Kyou dismissed the issue, "If they're not familiar with Japanese culture, they'll just think it's part of you name. If they are familiar, they'll think it's cute."

"Do you really think so?" Kotomi was still a little concerned but would trust Kyou-chan's advice.

"Yeah, it's not that big a deal." Kyou tried to sound as certain as she could. They would be visiting Kotomi's campus tomorrow and she didn't want her friend to be worrying about the little things.

"Oh yeah," Kyou launched into a subject change before Kotomi could start worrying too much, "I was going to ask you who else is living here."

"No-one else is living here." Kotomi cocked her head to one side and told Kyou what should have been obvious to her, "We are the only ones here now."

"No." Kyou covered her face with her hand. "I can see that we are the only ones here now but there are bedrooms that look like they are waiting for someone to arrive, and there are a couple of cars and a motorcycle in the garage."

"Oh, I see." Kotomi felt better about Kyou's cognitive abilities as she explained, "We will be expecting Tomoya-ku…" Kotomi corrected herself, "We will be expecting Tomoya to arrive in two months and the arrival of two children in a little over four months."

"Two children?" Kyou asked.

"Yes." Kotomi answered as she placed a hand on her belly.

"What?" Kyou gasped, "You're having twins?"

"That is the belief at this time." Kotomi said, "But it is unlikely that they will be as identical as you and Ryou. There is evidence of placental walls between the fetuses."

"Eh?" Kyou didn't know anything about placental walls and twins but that was a subject for another day. Kyou flopped down in a nearby chair and put her head in her hands. "Kotomi… raising children is a lot of work. I don't see how all three of us are going to be able to go to school and be able to keep up with two infants."

"Don't worry, Kyou." Kotomi walked on her knees, over to where Kyou was sitting. Putting her head in Kyou's lap and hugging her around the waist, Kotomi told her, "I was concerned too, but Professor Kobayashi said he would be sending help."

"Really?" it took a minute for Kyou to realize that the Japanese form of 'Kobayashi-hakase' was 'Professor Kobayashi' in English. Once she had that figured out, she looked down at the head in her lap and gently stroked the mass of purple hair. She felt more confident now, but there were still questions. "What about the vehicles? Is someone coming to pick them up?"

"No," Kotomi seemed so relaxed that she was on the verge of sleep as she told Kyou, "those are for us. This area does not have a mass transit system as developed as what we are used to in Japan. The convertible is mine. The sedan is for Tomoya. The motorcycle is for you."

"EH!" Kyou gasped, "What?" Kyou remembered admiring the motorcycle in the garage but also noticing how much larger it was than the little scooter that she used to ride to school and back.

"Tomoya explained that the rumors at the school about you being bisexual were his fault, when he tried to hide his blunder of mentioning your motorbike to the class." Kotomi was looking up at Kyou from where she had been resting her head, "Did I not understand the story correctly?"

"No, you understood correctly." Kyou blushed as she remembered that day when Tomoya had embarrassed her in front of her sister and a class full of students. "It's just that… the motorbike I had was a scooter and that thing is… huge!"

"It will be okay, Kyou-cha… Kyou." Kotomi told her, "I have signed you up for lessons this weekend. It was at Professor Kobayashi's recommendation. He said that the laws are a little different here and they drive on the right side of the road, so you should take the classes even if you already know how to drive."

"Ugh… driving school." Kyou couldn't help groaning about it. The driving school her father had demanded that she attend before being able to ride her scooter had been so terribly boring.

"It is only a three day class for you." Kotomi smiled, "Tomoya and I will have to go to classes that will take several weeks."

"Wow," Kyou leaned her head back and looked at the slowly spinning ceiling fan, "we really are adults now, aren't we?"

"Huh?" Kotomi didn't see how Kyou had got to that observation.

"Here we are talking about having children, college classes, and driving." Kyou closed her eyes and could easily see the familiar high school in her mind, "Every time I wake up, find myself looking around for my high school uniform…"

"Do you regret coming here with me, Kyou?" a concerned Kotomi asked.

"Baka!" Kyou looked down into Kotomi's worried eyes and smiled, "This is going to be a great adventure and I can't think of anyone that I would rather be on an adventure with than you and Tomoya."

"Thank you, Kyou!" Kotomi threw her arms around Kyou and hugged her again.

"There there," Kyou smiled as she soothed Kotomi's worries away. Still, she wondered what she might be missing in the last few months of high school. _Not much, I'm guessing. The third years that have their college acceptance usually skip the last few months anyway. If anything, I am escaping the boredom._ An idea suddenly came to her that made her smile. As soon as Kotomi let her up, she would take a picture of her new 'bike' and send it to Ryou… and her father.

.

 **Thur** **s** **day** **afternoon** **,** **Febr** **uary** **12** **–** **Student Council Office**

* * *

More than a month had passed since Kotomi and Kyou had left for America and Tomoya found himself counting the weeks until he too could board that big airliner that would reunite him with them. At the same time, there would be the sadness of leaving so many dear friends behind. He now had many people that he called friends and saying goodbye to them would not be easy. And then, of course, there was Tomoyo – who had become closer than a friend in these last five weeks. With the other two girls gone, she had been his sole study and exercise partner. Not to mention, she was a particularly comfortable fit when they cuddled together at night.

Other students and the school didn't know that they were sleeping in the same bed, but they did know that they were living at the same house and appeared to be getting quite close. Unfortunately, such closeness between them was not without its consequences.

Tomoyo was behind her desk in the Student Council Office with the Vice President and the Secretary flanking her. Across the table from them were members of the Disciplinary Committee. Although Youhei was not the head of the committee, he was in the center position to face off against his own friend. Youhei didn't like having to do this, but he didn't like the reason he was here even more.

"Tomoyo," Youhei wanted to try to appeal to her as a friend despite the environment and avoided titles and honorifics in the same way that she did, "there have been some rumors about the morals of the Student Council President… about you."

"Really?" Tomoyo sounded surprised.

"Yes," Youhei took a deep breath and continued, "Since it is my job to hunt down rumors and since it was about you… I handled this myself."

"Good, so it is taken care of then?" Tomoyo sounded positive but she noticed that the two committee members flanking Youhei didn't seem to match her positivity.

"No. No it's not." Youhei closed his eyes and told her, "my investigation showed that the rumors turned out to be true."

"Eh?" Tomoyo thought she had misheard Youhei for a moment.

"There are pictures of you and Tomoya." Youhei said as he spread the pictures out on the table, "You are eating together, here you are leaning into him and laughing, there are a few pictures of the two of you holding hands…"

"I don't see any pictures of us kissing." Tomoyo pointed out.

"Should there be?" Youhei glanced up at Tomoyo's eyes but she only smiled back.

"Of course not." Tomoyo had wanted to kiss him so desperately, but could not cross that line after all. At first she had thought that sleeping in his embrace would be a satisfactory substitute for not being able to kiss him. In the beginning it had been… but now she wanted that kiss all the more because of the closeness they now shared. Glancing back down at the pictures, she commented, "I don't remember walking around holding hands with Tomoya either… are you sure these pictures aren't faked?"

"I am sure." Youhei said it as if there was no room for doubt at all.

"How can you be so sure?" the Vice President asked.

"I took those pictures myself." Youhei admitted.

"I see." Tomoyo wondered when that had happened. They had tried to not be too affectionate in public, but they had obviously failed. She wondered how out of it she must have been to be in public and holding hands without her realizing it.

"Do you know why we are here, Tomoyo?" Youhei asked.

"No." Tomoyo fought what she knew they were about to suggest, "I don't see a problem here. So what if we were holding hands. We are very good friends. Youhei… you know that we are good friends!"

"Yes, I realize that Tomoyo." Youhei hated saying this, but when Tomoyo put him on the Disciplinary Committee, she had made it impossible for him to avoid such a responsibility. "You are the Student Council President and you are living in the same house with a married man and the wife is not around."

"I have permission…"Tomoyo was cut off by Youhei.

"You were seen holding hands with him! You were seen… all but kissing him!" Youhei hoped she would get the message he was trying to get across to her as he asked, "Are you going to tell us that you have permission from the wife… from Ichinose Kotomi, to hold hands with her husband, to kiss him, to do anything you want?"

"I… I have permission to live with him in her house." Tomoyo looked down. She did actually have permission to do quite a bit more than that, but she had understood what it was that Youhei was trying to tell her. By revealing everything, she would only muddy Kotomi's name and it wouldn't save her anyway.

"That's not enough." Youhei shook his head.

"Why isn't it enough?" Tomoyo sounded upset, but not yet angry, "Why is it anybodys business but my own?"

If you were anyone else, that might be okay, but you are on the Student Council. You aren't just expected to live by the established standards, you are expected to represent them." Youhei tried to appeal to Tomoyo on a personal level. "Do you remember… This is just like what you told me when you put me on the Disciplinary Committee. I could no longer be a delinquent. I could no longer do as I liked. I had to represent."

"I remember." Tomoyo took a deep breath and admitted to herself that the situation was very similar.

"You know what you have to do." Youhei said. He was expecting her to volunteer to move out of the Ichinose residence and leave Tomoya alone for the last three weeks of school. No-one in the room was prepared for the solution she came up with.

"I do." Tomoyo sighed and told them, "Tomorrow, I will announce that I am resigning from the Student Council and the Vice President will be taking over my responsibilities."

"What?" everyone gaped.

"The following day will be Valentines day." Tomoyo continued, "On that day, I will present Tomoya with the very best, hand made chocolates that I have ever made. I will also confess my love to him. He will, of course, turn me down. But I will not accept the path of cowardice!" Tomoyo stared down each of the present members of the Disciplinary Committee in turn. Then, for the first time Youhei could remember, tears came to her eyes as she told them, "It is Tomoya – so I already know what will happen. He will accept my chocolates, then he will gracefully turn me down because he is already in love with someone else."

"Tomoyo," Youhei reached across the table and took Tomoyo's hand, "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"Youhei, I've fallen in love with him." Tomoyo felt a weight lifted from her as she admitted to the feelings she had been trying so hard to keep hidden, "He is so wonderful and I have fallen so… so hard. What else can I do? I refuse to give up these last few weeks that I have to be with him."

"Tomoyo..." Youhei started to suggest reconsidering.

"I refuse!" Tomoyo shouted and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Well then," Youhei looked to the senior member of the Disciplinary Committee to his right and said, "since Sakagami Tomoyo will then be an ordinary student, I see no reason to pursue this."

.

 **Satur** **day** **morning** **,** **Febr** **uary** **1** **4** **–** **Hikarizaka High School**

* * *

When the alarm went off, Tomoya awoke to find himself alone in the bed. It was not that unusual after all the mornings that Tomoyo left early to help out at the Furukawa Bakery. Still, waking up alone on Valentines day was disappointing.

.

Youhei and Yukine were waiting for him at the gate as he left the house. Youhei looked like he was worried about something but Yukine seemed cheerful.

"Tomoya-senpai," Yukine called out to him as he joined them, "has anyone else given you chocolates yet?"

"Anyone else?" Tomoya thought the phrasing a bit odd. Come to think of it, he hadn't got anything in the mail from America… then again, he wasn't sure if married people were supposed to give each other chocolate on Valentines day and White day. "No, nobody has given me any chocolate."

"Good!" Yukine reached into her bag and pulled out a sizable gift wrapped box and handed it to him, "I'm glad that I get to be the first."

"Eh?" Youhei cried out, "Why are you giving Okazaki chocolates?" He cried out again when he saw the size of the box, "That's… that's too much for obligation chocolates!"

"No, these are not obligation chocolates, but neither are they something to indicate romantic feelings. This for Tomoya-senpai because he is someone I respect and hold very dear." Yukine could see that Youhei wasn't feeling any better at this reasoning, so she added, "I could think of many reasons to give him chocolates, but the most important reason would be: if it were not for him, I would never have met the person I fell in love with."

"I…" Youhei stewed as he walked along with Tomoya and Yukine for a few minutes then finally agreed, "All right, that's a pretty good reason. But why is his box bigger than mine?"

"Oh, the box I gave you was just for taking to school." Yukine purred as she leaned into him, "The rest of your present waits for when we get home."

"Eh!" Youhei felt as if an electric current had just passed through his nervous system. Suddenly, he was very much looking forward to the end of the school day.

.

Yukine did not seem surprised but Youhei was flabbergasted when Tomoya opened his shoe locker and a combination of cards and chocolates came pouring out.

"What's this?" Tomoya looked at Youhei and was about to blame him for trying some king of weird joke, but one look at the shocked expression on his friend's face convinced him that Youhei knew nothing of this.

"Hmm." Yukine had picked up the cards and a few of the chocolates that had spilled onto the ground and was looking through the cards, "As I suspected, it looks like these are mostly from first and second years."

"What?" both Tomoya and Youhei gaped.

"Tomoya-senpai, did you not know?" Yukine explained, "This is what happens when you inspire people. I would not be overly concerned. Like the chocolates I gave you, this is a sign of appreciation for you being who you are. No-one is seriously trying to steal you away from Kotomi-senpai."

"Um… Yu-chan?" Youhei called her over when he opened his own locker and found several cards and chocolates waiting for him as well, "Are these appreciation chocolates too?"

Yukine's demeanor changed as she reached for the cards in her boyfriend's shoe locker and quickly scanned them. Yukine had anticipated that this would happen to Tomoya, but it had completely escaped her that there might be similar feelings for Youhei as well. _And why not? Surely he has acquitted himself of the delinquent title, his grades and attendance have improved, and he has even been accepted into the famous Law Enforcement College in Tokyo. Of course_ _he would have inspired people along the way and of course they would want to show their appreciation._ Yukine prided herself on being able to remain calm when others could not, and now she couldn't help herself as the anger and jealousy built within her. _Why would they do this? Doesn't everyone know he is mine? It's insulting and I will not…_ Her eyes fell on the last card. There was a drawing of a starfish on it. It was addressed to _The Nice Guy With The Weird Hair_.

"Youhei-kun," Yukine held up the starfish card, "I am pretty sure all of these, like Tomoya-kun's, are in appreciation… except this one." She gave all the cards back to Youhei and made sure he looked at the special envelope.

Youhei smiled when he saw the starfish design. Closing his eyes, he remembered all the time he had spent with Fuko. Time in the resource room learning to remember Fuko. Time taking her to see Nagisa, to birthday parties, and to see her beloved sister. Time alone in his dormitory room when she would watch him fall asleep as she faded out of his memory. When he opened his eyes again, Fuko was there – next to Yukine and looking frightened. Youhei said nothing but smiled warmly and opened his arms to her. The small girl was in his arms in an instant and holding onto him with all of her might.

"Fuko does not want you to go!" Fuko cried.

"Go?" Youhei patted her head, "I'm not the one that is leaving. That's Okazaki."

"You will graduate soon. Then you will leave." Fuko said defiantly, "Yu-chan told me so!"

"Oh, well that's different." Youhei lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "I will still be coming back to see Yu-chan and I will want to see you too."

"Really?" Fuko asked hopefully, "You will want to see Fuko?"

"Of course I will!" Youhei held his arm out for Yukine to join him in the hug. In the blink of an eye, she was joined into the small group hug. "Fuko is very important to me. I want Fuko to be there when Yukine and I get married."

"Fuko is very important to me too." Yukine said, "I also want Fuko to be there when we get married and I want Fuko to know our children too."

"Fuko will like that! Fuko believes your children will be so cute!" Fuko's sadness seemed to have been instantly replaced by happiness at the idea of meeting Youhei and Yukine's children. "Fuko can't wait!"

"Umm..." Youhei was about to caution Fuko that the wedding wouldn't be for ten months and any children might be several years away.

"I can't either!" Yukine hugged Fuko back amidst their growing excitement.

"Ulp." Youhei looked up to Tomoya for help but only found him grinning back.

"It looks like you're future is planned out already, Mr. Family-man." Tomoya chuckled.

"Oh yeah, what about you?" Youhei fired back, "Kotomi seems like the type to want a family too."

"Sure, sure..." Tomoya waved him off, "but she'll want to at least finish college first so that's probably five or six years down the road."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Youhei agreed. Then he looked at his happy girlfriend and realized that thinking about starting a family with her was not a bad idea. _Not a bad idea at all._ Caressing her head until she looked up at him, Youhei told his fiancé, "Fuko is right. We are going to have beautiful children."

.

When Tomoya got to his classroom, he found his desk filled with cards and chocolate. Something Yukine had said down at the shoe lockers made him anticipate this. These would be the presents from his fellow third year students. Nagisa came over from her classroom and, together with Ryou, presented Tomoya with an exceptionally nice arrangement of handmade chocolates.

"Thank you for everything, Tomoya-kun! If it hadn't been for you, I might never have met Nagisa." Ryou started to cry, "Without you, I would have lost… lost…" Her face began to dissemble into tears and sobs at the though of how it might have turned out with Nagisa on that terrible night at the Furukawa residence.

"Hey!" Tomoya reached out and pushed Ryou and Nagisa together, "Hug now! She is here, so you don't need to cry. This chocolate looks incredible but just seeing the love between you two is enough for me."

"Thank you, Okazaki-sama." Nagisa bowed to the guy she once had a crush on. In her mind, she was thanking him for so many things. Because of him she had friends, she got to perform her play, she was alive, and – perhaps most of all, she met the love of her life.

"Whoa, stop that!" Tomoya held up his hands, "I'm not _Okazaki-sama_. I'm _Tomoya-kun_ to you guys, okay?"

Ryou and Nagisa gave Tomoya a hug before Ryou left to escort Nagisa back to her classroom.

.

At lunch time, Tomoya left his classroom as usual to head for the Performance Club room to join his friends for lunch. Strangely, he found his usual walk to the old wing was blocked by a lot of students in the courtyard.

"What's going on?" he asked a student near the entryway.

"Oh, Okazaki-san!" the student was another third year that recognized him, but Tomoya couldn't remember his name. The student said, "Sakagami Tomoyo is waiting for you by the big tree."

"Eh?" Tomoya was surprised. Tomoyo usually met up for lunch in the Performance Room with everyone else. "Thanks!" He smacked the student on the shoulder and made his way through the crowd toward the big tree. At first, it was slow going, but when everyone found out he was trying to make his way there, they parted to let him through. When he got to the tree, he could see Tomoyo looking downcast. In her hands she held the bag with their bento boxes in it, and a delicately wrapped gift in Valentine red and white. It suddenly became very quiet as he approached her under the tree. The sudden quiet made Tomoyo look up and she saw that Tomoya was right in front of her.

"Tomoya, I started to think that you wouldn't come." she sounded normal but Tomoya had lived with her long enough to know when she was covering up her nervousness.

"Huh?" Tomoya was confused, "I was just on my way to the Performance Club room… was I supposed to meet you here for something?"

"I left a note in your desk." Tomoyo looked back down at hearing that Tomoya was not here for her.

"Ah, that explains it." Tomoya told her, "When I got to my desk, it was stuffed with chocolates and cards. I haven't had a chance to read them all yet." Tomoya had become adept at reading situations by now. Since Kotomi had essentially relied on him for over half a year to be her weather-vane for sympathy and empathy, and since Kotomi had taught him how to apply logic and analysis to observed data, he had become pretty good at figuring out the atmosphere. In only a few heartbeats he knew that the atmosphere was not good. He had made all the observations, but how would he apply them? _How would Kotomi do this…_

 _The note she referred to means she called me out. But why? I need more answers..._

 _Tomoyo is looking depressed. That means emotional, and that means it is a matter of love or hate._

 _Tomoyo stepped down from being the Student Council President yesterday._

 _Tomoyo was waiting for me. That means that I might be the target of the emotion._

 _Tomoyo is holding a valentines gift that is certainly not obligational. Not hate… it is a matter of love._

 _So, putting it all together: Tomoyo loves me and is planning to confess in front of all these people. Knowing that I must refuse because I am married to Kotomi… she is anticipating the humiliation and fallout to her reputation. I'm leaving soon but she has another year here; I must stop her from doing this!_

Tomoyo was just about to speak when she heard Tomoya blurt out her name.

"Sakagami Tomoyo, please hear me out!" Tomoya was slightly bowed and had his eyes closed as he called out to her.

"Yes?" Tomoyo was stunned. She thought she had anticipated every way that Tomoya would refuse her confession, but Tomoya now sounded like the one making the confession. That Tomoya might do something like this had not occurred to her.

"I'm sorry I did not see your note, but by now you should know me well enough. You should know that if you ever need me, I will be there for you." Tomoya said this without looking up at the surprised platinum blond, "No matter where the paths of our lives take us, I will always be there for you."

"I… yes." Tomoyo knew that she could count on Tomoya, but she wondered if that was only because of his overdeveloped sense of obligation to his friends, or if he too felt…

"As you know, I am already married." Tomoya stood and said clearly enough that the crowd around them could hear, "But I cannot easily dismiss the feelings that I have for you."

"Eh?" Tomoyo had certainly not anticipated this. _Feelings you have for me?_

"Before she left, Kotomi anticipated that I might develop strong feelings for you and told me that I should immediately ask you to be my girlfriend until the end of school." Tomoya could hear the gasps from the people in the courtyard even as he could see the shock in Tomoyo's eyes. "I didn't do it because I thought it would be too cruel to ask you to be my girlfriend for a few months and then watch me leave."

"Tomoya… I" Tomoyo couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had Kotomi really said something like that? Was it really okay to let the rest of her guard down and love Tomoya after all… even if it was only for a little while?

"Forgive me, Tomoyo but I can't..." the crowd was silent again as they listened for his next words. Was he about to refuse her after all? "I can't deny my feelings any longer. You have been for some time, a good friend. But, you are now, more than a friend to me. Will you be my girlfriend until the end of school?" The crowd was confused and that was just the way Tomoya wanted it. On the one hand Tomoya was asking her to be his girlfriend, but he was already married, but his wife told him to do it, so was it cheating or not? And if it wasn't cheating, what the hell was it? In all this confusion, Tomoyo could only come out looking good when she refused such an audacious request.

"Is that Kotomi's stipulation?" Tomoyo asked.

"Huh?" Tomoya was confused at her question. _Tomoyo, what are you doing? All you have to do is refuse me now and..._

"Did she say that I could only be your girlfriend until the end of school?" Tomoyo demanded.

"Um no," Tomoya considered, "but you know that I am leaving for America the day after graduation."

"Then, I will be your girlfriend until Kotomi says I cannot." Tomoyo stepped up to Tomoya and handed him the bento bag and the chocolates. After he took them in each hand, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. Looking up, she whispered to him, "Did Kotomi say if it is okay for us to kiss?"

"Um…" Actually, Kotomi had been very surprised to find out that he hadn't already kissed her. He hesitantly admitted, "Yes."

"WHOOOOOOO!" the crowd in the courtyard had been fairly quiet until that moment. When Tomoyo pulled his head down and passionately kissed him on the lips, it was as if it was a cue for everyone to start cheering.

.

"Do you believe this crap?" a Disciplinary Committee member said aloud as they watched the spectacle in the courtyard through the windows.

"What crap?" Youhei raised an eyebrow as he asked.

"That line about his wife agreeing to this." the DC member scoffed.

"Oh that," Youhei laughed, "have you met Ichinose Kotomi?"

"No," the DC member shivered at the excruciating memory, "but I sat through one of her violin performances once."

"Heh… well as brilliant as she is, a lot of people think that her social skills are on par with her violin playing." Youhei unclasped and removed the braided rope from his shoulder that identified him as a member of the Disciplinary Committee and handed it to the other member. "To tell you the truth, I'll bet she set this up from the beginning. She probably planned for this to happen way back last summer when she invited Tomoyo to live at her house."

"Why… why would she do that?"

"Because in her mind, she wanted someone capable, and someone she liked and could trust, to be there to take care of Tomoya when she couldn't be there for him. So she picked Tomoyo." Youhei said.

"But surely she knew they would end up cheating on her?"

"The concept of cheating is as alien to her as her dimensional theory is to you or me." Youhei explained. "To her way of thinking, a person who likes you will take better care of you than a person that doesn't care one way or the other. And a person that loves you, will care of you better than someone that just likes you."

"So?"

"So, to Kotomi, it is all about what is best for Tomoya." Youhei started to walk out of the empty classroom to go join his friends for lunch, "She found the most capable person available, had her fall in love with Tomoya, and now she can sleep easy knowing that he is well taken care of."

"You can't be serious!"

"I'm only speculating, of course." Youhei answered with a disclaimer, but he was pretty sure of himself on this.

"Where are you going?" the DC member asked as Youhei got to the door.

"I gave you back the rope. I'm done with the Disciplinary Committee now." Youhei smiled.

"But the agreement..."

"The agreement… was with President Sakagami." Youhei let the door close on the shocked DC member.

.

Sitting on the front porch of the Ichinose house was a package that had been left by a delivery driver. The contents of the box included chocolates that had been shipped all the way from America. After they got home that evening and opened the shipping box, Tomoya posed for a picture with the chocolates he got from Kotomi, Kyou, and Tomoyo. Then, after Tomoya's insistence, Tomoyo posed for a picture with the chocolates she got from Kotomi. The pictures were sent to their far-away friends along with their thanks.


	26. Chapter 26 - One Adventure Ends

**Saturday eve** **ning** **,** **Febr** **uary** **1** **4** **–** **William Marsh University, Houston**

* * *

"This is one of the principal reasons I am here, Professor." Kotomi told the old man with a head of closely cut white hair. She was leaning against a railing looking down at the behemoth machine that stretched the length of the long building.

"It is a dinosaur, you know." they were both looking at the aging linear particle accelerator in the old Nuclear Physics building.

"It is now," Kotomi admitted as she handed the heavy manila envelope to the professor, "but with these changes and updates, I believe we will see something interesting within three years."

"These are the results of the Hokkaido talks?" the Professor felt the weight of the packet but didn't open it yet.

"Yes, that is everything." Kotomi closed her eyes and imagined this same room at some time in the near future with lots of activity. She looked forward to the feelings that they would have when they saw the first evidence of the predicted results.

"Three years." the Professor thought about all that would have to be done, "That's a pretty aggressive schedule."

"It has taken me a decade to get here, Professor. I do not intend to drag my feet now." Kotomi closed her eyes again and imagined seeing her parents.

"I just meant that… um…" gesturing at her belly he haltingly said, "In your condition… don't you think that um… it might slow you down?"

"Not in the least." Kotomi wondered why he would make such an observation.

"Amazing." the Professor looked at the heavy packet in his hands and said, "Mrs. Ichinose… I mean, Mrs. Okazaki! You are every bit as amazing as they said you would be."

"Thank you professor," Kotomi bowed to the older man, "I have found your facilities to be as amazing as promised and the people here have been very friendly. I would like to thank you for that."

"Oh, you're quite welcome… on their behalf, of course." the Professor stumbled. Small talk and pleasantries was not his strong suit, but neither was it supposed to be a strong suit of this Japanese girl genius. And yet, here she was making him feel like a schoolboy. "Will your husband be arriving soon?"

"Tomoya-kun should be here in about three weeks now." Kotomi smiled at the thought of having him back again.

"I heard he will be going to the city college instead of here with you, is that right?" the Professor asked.

"Yes," Kotomi was a little saddened that Tomoya-kun and Kyou-chan couldn't be at the same university with her but it couldn't be helped.

"He must be a good man." the Professor wondered what kind of a man could capture the heart of such a beautiful genius.

"Indeed he is." Kotomi looked like she was dreaming as she said, "He is a very good man." Opening her eyes she looked down at the particle accelerator again and said softly, "Better than I deserve."

.

 **S** **un** **day** **morning** **,** **Febr** **uary** **1** **5** **–** **Okazaki residence**

* * *

Despite his sudden resignation from the Disciplinary Committee, they didn't hold it against him. He had proven himself as a valued member of their team for the short time that they worked together. To many of the DC members, it had been a nice change to root out the sources of discontent, rather than only being able to respond once emotions had boiled over. They all agreed that they would miss his talents, but it was the end of his last year and he would be leaving soon anyway. Much to Youhei's surprise, the following day, most of them came to his birthday party at the Okazaki house. As a special surprise, his sister Mei came to the party with Nagisa and Ryou from the Furukawa residence.

"Mei?" Youhei was stunned when he saw her at the front door in a cute dress that seemed to have a pattern of different colored dango's running through it. Nagisa had her arms around Mei and was wearing a dreamy look that reminded Youhei of Fuko when she saw too many starfish. Ryou stood to the side of them and seemed to be wearing a little pout while all of Nagisa's attention was on Mei.

"Happy birthday, onii-san! Are you happy to see me?" Mei asked hopefully.

"Of course I am!" Youhei grabbed his little sister away from a startled Nagisa and gave her a squeezing hug as he whirled her around in the small living room.

"Eeeeeeeee!" Mei cried out with glee as her big brother held her and spun her around the room.

"No…" Ryou had a hold on Nagisa's shirt and was stopping her from running to grab Mei back. Then she mock pouted as she told Nagisa, "Your old dango dress does fit Mei very nicely, but if you keep giving her all the attention I'm going to get jealous."

"Ryou?" Nagisa smiled and pulled her girlfriend in for a hug. "I'll find a nice dango dress for you to wear too!"

"That's not a good idea." Tomoya said as he approached from behind them. He and Tomoyo had just arrived and they had both heard Nagisa's comment.

"Why is that Okazaki?" Nagisa asked.

"Considering how much you like Ryou and how much you like dangos, putting them together could make your brain lock up in a cuteness overload."

"Okazaki!" Nagisa snapped.

"It seems that I've heard that line before." Ryou said.

"Do you deny it could happen?" Tomoya asked the girl with blue eyes and short purple hair, but was otherwise a perfect copy of Kyou.

"Well..." Ryou considered the depth of Nagisa's dango fetish, "no."

"Ryou!" Nagisa cried out in disbelief that her lover would say such a thing… but still, she did not release Ryou from her hug.

"Oh how nice, Mei is here!" Kouko said as she arrived with her husband Yusuke. She watched as Youhei put his imouto down. Mei took a few steps over to where she put her hands on…

Brown eyes appeared.

Long brown hair tied in a blue bow.

"FU-CHAN!" Kouko rushed to the the ikiryo of her little sister and pulled her into a fierce hug. Fuko looked as if she was being crushed but she wasn't complaining about the attention her big sister was giving her. That would simply never happen.

"She's getting better at that." Yusuke said to Youhei. "I really appreciate what all of you have done for her… for us."

"You're able to remember Fuko now?" Nagisa asked Yusuke.

"Yes," he answered sadly, "I've been able to remember her for a while now, but it is still difficult for her."

"This might help," Tomoya told Yusuke, "Kotomi-chan and I have decided to let Youhei and Yukine live here through Youhei's college years and Fuko is welcome to live here with them."

"Seriously?" Yusuke was stunned.

"You might try asking her to stay at your house," Tomoya suggested, "but it might be stressful for Kouko-san since she visits the comatose Fuko so often and has the memory block issue."

"Yeah..." Yusuke rubbed his chin as he considered bringing this up with his wife.

"Hey," Mei pouted, "What about me? I would like to live with onii-san and Yukine-chan when I come here for high school."

"I don't think that will be possible." Tomoyo laughed, "There are already people fighting over you."

"What?" Mei's pout became surprise.

"It's true," Nagisa giggled, "my parents want you to move into our house and stay as a guest while you go to high school."

"And Kotomi-chan and I want you to stay at the Ichinose house and look after it while you go to high school." Tomoya told her.

"With Tomoyo-senpai?" Mei sounded awed.

"No," Tomoyo answered kindly to the younger girl, "I will be leaving for Hokkaido University at the end of the next school year, so I would be turning the house over to you."

"Okazaki-san," Mei asked, "you think that I will be responsible enough to take care of a house by myself next year?"

"No Mei," Tomoya smiled, "I think you are already responsible enough. But you can't come until you finish your middle school and pass the test for Hikarizaka High School."

"Really?" Mei preened at the complement.

"Yes." Tomoya confirmed.

"I'll do my best!" Mei vowed.

.

 **S** **un** **day** **early** **morning** **,** **Febr** **uary** **22** **–** **Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

"Good morning, brat." Akio said to the still sleepy looking Tomoya as he was pulled into the shop by the familiar Tomoyo. "Hey," Akio plinked Tomoya on the head with his finger, "you look awful."

"I'm still asleep." Tomoya groaned and reached up to rub the sore spot he now had on his head, "Tomoyo, tell me again why we are here."

We are going to make lots of cookies." Tomoyo told him, "Don't worry. I will guide you, but it is important that you make these cookies yourself."

Nagisa brought some coffee and Ryou helped him put on a work apron while Tomoyo got everything ready for him. After he had completed many of the steps, he started to realize that it wasn't just Tomoyo helping him out. Nagisa and Ryou were both assisting and making sure he didn't set anything on fire or hurt himself on the industrial grade baking equipment. When he was awake enough, he started to wonder why…

"Um… Tomoyo?" he tried to sound curious and not rebellious at all this early morning activity on a weekend, "Why are we making all these cookies?"

"Because, when a girl gives you chocolates on Valentines Day, it is customary to give her a gift a month later, on White Day."

"But," Tomoya tried to clear out the last of the cobwebs in his brain, "I won't be here then. I will already be in America."

"That's right," Tomoyo smiled despite the pain of acknowledging that comment, "so starting tomorrow, you are going to be giving out handwritten cards and White Day presents to everyone that gave you a gift."

"Everyone?" Tomoya remembered the stack of cards and chocolates that he had brought home.

"Yes," Tomoyo chuckled at his discomfort, "and don't worry, I made a list."

"Tomorrow?" Okazaki scratched his head as he took another sip of his coffee. It wasn't that he didn't mind doing it, but he wondered what was so special about tomorrow.

"Okazaki," Nagisa looked as if she was about to cry as she reminded him, "tomorrow begins the last full week we have of school. Your time at the high school… Our time together is drawing to a close."

"Eh!" Tomoya hadn't looked at a calendar in a while but he knew it was true. Valentines Day had always marked the final stretch of the school year. In the past it had always been a happy time. A time when everyone rejoiced that another school year was over and they would be together in a month to start the next one.

 _Our time together is drawing to a close._

But he wouldn't be joining them for another school year this time. There would be no more morning Karate Club workouts, or Performance Club lunches or study sessions around the table with his friends. Nagisa and Ryou would be together at their university. Youhei would be alone at his, but he would be coming home to Yukine every day. Tomoya would be reunited with Kotomi and Kyou in America…

 _Our time together is drawing to a close._

The _drawing to a close_ of their time together had already begun. Kotomi and Kyou hadn't been with them for a month and a half. Tomoya felt the pain of missing them every day. Now, he looked around the room at these friends that he might never see again after graduation and felt the pain stab through him for each one of them.

 _Our time together is drawing to a close._

They must have all been thinking the same thing. Nagisa and Ryou had tears running down their cheeks and Tomoyo and even Akio had wet eyes. Tomoya wiped his eyes and made a commitment… to himself and to his friends.

"Next winter, we are coming back here for Youhei and Yukine's wedding." Tomoya looked around the room at his friends, "All of us should come. We should all be there."

"I'll be there, Tomoya." Tomoyo promised. Of course, it would not be difficult for her. She would still be in High School at that point and living at the Ichinose house. But, she made the promise anyway.

"We'll be there too!" Ryou said with determination, "Right Nagisa?"

"Yes," Nagisa said between wiping the tears from her cheeks, "I know I will want to see everyone again. It feels so sad to see everyone leaving when I have finally made friends… real friends."

"Real friends…" Tomoyo repeated the words and felt the power of them. She had not had real friends before and she knew exactly how Nagisa felt. Tomoya, Kotomi, Nagisa, Ryou, Kyou… even Youhei had been better friends than she had ever had in her life. They were all third years and she would miss them all terribly.

"Hey now," Akio wanted to let these kids feel the full measure of the emotions they had earned, but he also wanted them to have some fun in their last days together and he didn't want them to have any baking mishaps. "HEY!" He shouted to get their attention, "You still have a week left. You can always keep in touch with email and phone calls. There will be reunions too. But most importantly… right now… YOU'RE BURNING THE COOKIES!"

.

 **Thur** **s** **day** **afternoon** **,** **February** **26** **–** **Houston residence**

* * *

Since the Spring semester for higher education in America started in mid January, Kotomi had already started classes at her college and wouldn't be home for several hours yet. For the first few weeks of class, Kyou had accompanied Kotomi to the school and even sat in on the classes with her. She actually understood some of the lectures but she stopped going when Kotomi started feeling confident in the new environment.

Since then, Kyou had completed her motorcycle course and took the driving course as well as some other life courses. Kotomi had wanted Kyou to wait and go to the driving school with Tomoya, but Kyou pointed out that running errands to get groceries would not be easy on her motorcycle. With Kotomi off to her classes for a good part of each week day, Kyou busied herself with converting the house into a home.

Kyou was about to start cleaning the bathroom when the doorbell rang. There was a delivery truck parked out front as Kyou passed by a window but she was stunned to see a box big enough to ship a desk chair out on the porch.

"Yes?" Kyou thought at first there must be some sort of mistake but she could see Japanese writing on the box and started to think otherwise.

"Sign here please." the delivery man said as he held out an electronic device to her.

"Oh… okay." When she went to sign it, she could see that the box was sent from the Furukawa Bakery, and addressed to Fujibayashi Kyou and/or Ichinose Kotomi. As soon as she signed on the electronic pad, the delivery man was on his way back to his truck. For a moment, she thought about calling out to him to help her move the box, but if it was from the bakery, she supposed it shouldn't be too heavy.

.

Despite Kyou's nagging curiosity, and through an extreme effort of willpower, the box remained unopened until Kotomi got home. By then, Kyou had dinner ready and the curiosity was killing her. She grudgingly accepted that Kotomi would probably want to eat dinner first and open the package later. It was a fair assumption. Kotomi was now in her sixth month of pregnancy and was usually pretty hungry when she got back from school.

"What's that?" Kotomi's eyes were large with excitement as she saw the box sitting at the end of the dinner table.

"I don't know." Kyou told her as hope sprung that Kotomi might not want to wait after all. "It was delivered today and the shipping label says it came from the Furukawa Bakery."

"Nagisa-chan sent us something?" Kotomi forgot to strip the honorific from the name in her excitement. Then shifting back to English, she asked, "I wonder if it is something for the babies?"

"Nobody back home knows that you're pregnant yet, so I doubt it is something for a child." Kyou pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kotomi didn't seem to be any less excited that it wasn't a baby present.

"There's nothing on the outside. I was hoping there might be a note on the inside of the box." Kyou relayed all that she had discovered so far. She dared to suggest, "Do you want to open it now?"

"Yes!" Kotomi grabbed a knife from the table and slashed at the tape that sealed the box. Despite the seemingly wild swings, she had the box open in seconds. Kyou made a mental note not to let her open anything fragile in the future.

"Cookies?" Kotomi dug through the box and found sealed plastic bags full of cookies. Each bag had at least a dozen cookies in it and there were a _lot_ of bags. The bent-over position Kotomi was in began to tire her, so she sat down with two bags of cookies and tried to figure out why someone would mail something like this to her from half way around the world.

Kyou started reaching into the box and pulling out the bags to hand to Kotomi. The clear plastic bags were all the same, but the cookies inside seemed to be different. As Kyou handed them over, Kotomi began organizing them. The bags on top were all dark red cookies with white chocolate chips. Then there were dark chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips. And finally, there were lightly browned cookies, again with white chocolate chips.

"What the heck?" Kyou was saying just as she got to the last bag and found it to be full of broken and burned cookies. But, this bag had an large envelope taped to it. Inside the envelope, Kyou found two cards and a letter. One of the cards was addressed to Kotomi and one was addressed to her; both were in Tomoya's handwriting. The letter was in a finer handwriting and was addressed to the both of them. Kyou handed Kotomi's card over to her and looked at her own.

The explanation was apparent before she had even opened the card up. On the cover of Kotomi's card was a printed message that read, _To My Beloved, Happy White Day!_ Kyou's card read, _To My Sweetheart, Happy White Day!_

"White Day?" Kyou questioned, "But that's not for a couple of weeks." She opened the card and read the handwritten message from Tomoya to her:

.

 _Dear Kyou-chan,_

 _I know this is early for White Day, but it couldn't be helped. I made a lot of cookies at the Furukawa Bakery today to give as thanks to all the people that gave me chocolate on Valentines day. Before you get mad enough to throw a book through a wall, let me explain._

 _Both Tomoyo-chan and Yukine-chan explained to me that the chocolates that I got were a show of admiration and respect, but they didn't mean anything romantic. At first, I didn't believe them, but after I read the cards, I did. It seems that I inspired people because I was a good person, reliable, and because I gave it my all._

 _But I never would have been like that, or given my all to anything if it wasn't for you, Kotomi, and Tomoyo. You and Kotomi started it all when you made me aspire for better things in my life, and the three of you helped me get there. I am being honest when I say that I don't think I could have made it without you._

 _I love you, Kyou. I can't wait to see you again in a little over a week._

 _Tomoya_

.

The tears were running down Kyou's face as she finished reading the card. _Tomoya, you idiot! You can't say those things_ _to me_ _… you just can't! I'm so stupid. If you keep saying things like that, I'll start thinking it's okay to love you back._

"Trade!" Kotomi snatched Kyou's card and gave hers over before Kyou realized what she did.

"AH!" Kyou made a mad grab to get her card back but Kotomi had already read the whole thing.

"Oh, Kyou-chan that is so sweet!" Kotomi was actually smiling as she handed the card back, "It is good to see that Tomoya-kun recognizes the efforts you have made for him and has come to grips with his love for you."

"Kotomi!" Kyou blushed furiously. Kotomi's comment had cut her twice. Pointing out the love between them was one thing, but forcing her to deal with the fact that she herself had not yet come to grips with her own love for Tomoya… that was brutal.

"What?" Kotomi asked innocently.

"You're… you're using chan and kun again." Kyou decided not to try to make Kotomi understand why discussing the love between herself and Kotomi's husband openly was embarrassing. She had tried to make Kotomi understand before and had come away from the ensuing debate with a headache and the distinct feeling that she was the one that had it wrong.

"Am I?" Kotomi tried to run back through the conversation in her mind. "Yes, it seems that I am prone to slip up when I am excited or tired." Looking back at Kyou she asked, "What did you think of my card?"

"Oh," Kyou opened the card, "Give me a minute, I haven't read it yet." Kyou saw the same handwriting as it wrote out a message to Kotomi:

 _My Beloved Kotomi-chan,_

 _I know it took me a long time to take your advice, but I finally confessed to Tomoyo on Valentines Day and she is now my girlfriend. Not much has changed, other than the whole school knows of it, and we don't try to hide our affection any more. I am concerned about her though. She tries to hide it, but I can tell that she is saddened, knowing that the end of the school year is just around the corner and we will have to say our farewells._

 _I will be pretty sad myself, but I have the happiness of knowing that I will soon be leaving to join you and Kyou. I miss both of you so much. I look forward to seeing you again with all my heart._

 _Love,_

 _Tomoya-kun_

.

"GIRLFRIEND!" Kyou started to acquire her dark aura as she thought about Tomoya and Tomoyo becoming boyfriend and girlfriend in front of the whole school while she was on the other side of the planet.

"Kyou NO, please!" Kotomi cried out. She looked as if Kyou had slapped her.

"Huh?" Kyou was so stunned by Kotomi's reaction that she dropped out of her rage completely.

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi was sobbing, "You just wadded up the card that Tomoya-kun sent to me."

"Eh?" Kyou looked at her hand to see the card was torn and crumpled in her fist. "NO!" Kyou released the damaged card and watched as it slowly fell to the table and rolled to a stop. _I did it again! I am a monster! I can't be trusted! No-one is safe around me. I need to…_ "ARRRRRRGGH!" Kyou cried out as a freezing cold sensation enveloped her face and chest. Looking up, she saw Kotomi looking frightened and holding an empty water glass.

"Kotomi?" Kyou asked. There was no response. Kotomi still looked frightened and on the verge of tears.

"Kotomi-chan." Kyou tried again.

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi replied and looked a little less frightened.

"Did you just throw a glass of ice water on me?" Kyou asked.

"Um." Kotomi looked at the empty glass in her hand and nodded her head, "You had that look like you were thinking stupid things again."

"Oh?" Kyou asked, "and what stupid things did you assume I was thinking?"

"You looked like you were thinking that you shouldn't be around me because you are unpredictable and violent." Kotomi looked down, "I'm sorry if I caused you discomfort because I misread your emotional state."

"No no no," Kyou sighed, "you pretty-much nailed it."

"You do not still have those thoughts do you?" Kotomi asked as she slowly reached for Kyou's glass of ice water that was still on the table. "Perhaps I did not douse you sufficiently?"

"No no, that is not necessary." Kyou raised her hands in a _stop_ gesture.

"You must not think those things, Kyou-chan." Kotomi sounded sincere as she told Kyou, "I was sad when I saw you crumple Tomoya's card to me, but do you think I would feel any better if you left me? If you did that, it would be the cruelest thing of all."

"Kotomi…" Kyou had calmed down… and cooled down now. "I'm so sorry. How can I make this up to you?"

"Go dry off." Kotomi smiled as she sat back down at her place at the table, "I will wait for you to come back. Then we will have dinner together."

"And, after dinner, we can try some of Tomoya's cookies." Kyou offered.

"A splendid idea!" Kotomi agreed.

.

It didn't take Kyou long to get dried off and get a different shirt on. However, by the time she got back to the table, Kotomi was asleep in her chair. _Jeez, she is really getting tired easily these days._ Kyou went around to the other side of the table and checked Kotomi's pulse. Kyou was satisfied that it was strong and regular. She had not been idle while Kotomi had been going to college classes. Aside from the driving classes and shopping, Kyou had been taking classes that were a cross between Lamaze and Doula training. She took her promise to Kotomi seriously and vowed that she would be ready in a few months when Kotomi would desperately need her. She pulled Kotomi's head into her chest and told her sleeping friend, "Don't worry about me Kotomi. I won't run off. I just needed to cool down." Kyou looked over at the empty water glass next to Kotomi and laughed, "But I guess you already figured that out."

Kyou then saw the letter on the table next to Kotomi's other hand. She knew it was from Tomoyo and thought about not reading it… but the truth was that she had become good friends with the platinum blond haired girl and wasn't really mad at her at all. Like many of Tomoyo's conversations, the letter was short, sweet, and to the point:

.

 _Hello Kotomi and Kyou,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. I am not used to writing personal letters so I will get to the story that I wanted to communicate to you._

 _Yukine and I came up with the idea to have Youhei and Tomoya give cookie presents to all the girls that gave them chocolates on Valentines day. Since Tomoya had so many people to give presents to, I asked Furukawa Akio if we could use the larger ovens at the bakery. Nagisa and Ryou helped us make the cookies and everything was fine until he started thinking about how he was going to miss his friends or how much he missed you two. Every time he did that, he would space out and burn another batch of cookies. The bag of cookies that I included in the shipping box are just a few of the cookies that he ruined._

 _But, I cannot blame him. He does miss both of you terribly, as do I._

 _You are both very lucky to have so much of his love. He cares for me a lot, and it may even be love. However, it is but a shadow of the love he has for the two of you._

 _I am your good friend, but I am envious of you nonetheless._

 _Tomoyo_

.

 _Dammit._ Kyou wanted to wad this letter up too, but for a different reason. _If I had read this one first, I never would have gone nuts on Kotomi's card._ "Oh well..."

"Huh?" Kotomi woke up to Kyou's voice.

"Come on, Kotomi!" Kyou sounded cheerful, "After we eat, I'll get you bathed and to bed and you can have a nice long sleep."

"Thank you Kyou-chan." Kotomi was evidently so tired, she was almost slurring her words.

.

 **Tues** **day** **afternoon** **,** **March 2** **–** **Hikarizaka High School**

* * *

"Thanks to Tomoyo and Yukine, we'll be leaving this school with one hell of a reputation." Youhei observed as he walked through the courtyard with only Tomoya on this pleasant March afternoon.

"It wasn't just them." Tomoya thought about all the people that had been involved in his life since his final year in high school had begun.

"I was just talking about the cookies." Youhei smiled, "You with Tomoyo and me with Yukine, going classroom to classroom and handing out cookies to everyone that had given us chocolates. We are the talk of the school, you know."

It was true. Apparently, Yukine and Tomoyo had conspired with each other after Valentines day. Together they had hatched a plan to make sure that the boys would graduate with the fondest of memories. Yukine and Fuko helped Youhei make his cookies at the Okazaki house on the same Sunday morning that Tomoya had been at the Furukawa Bakery. Over the following week, they had surprised a lot of people as they made their rounds through the school. A lot of girls had been embarrassed or surprised. Some boyfriends were initially upset, but with Yukine accompanying Youhei, and Tomoyo accompanying Tomoya, it was pretty clear that the gifts were not intended to be of a romantic nature.

"We've been the talk of the school before." Tomoya recalled some of their ridiculous practical jokes from previous years that had got them in trouble as well as sullied their reputations.

"True," Youhei laced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the blue sky, "but this time in a _good_ way."

"Yeah, on the second to last day of school." Tomoya pointed out.

"Better than never." Youhei laughed, "And besides, a lot of those cookies went to first and second years. We'll have reputations that will last here for years to come."

"I guess so." Tomoya admired the positive outlook that Youhei was able to maintain. If he had never made any friends, the end of school would be nothing to him. But he did make friends and now… it felt to Tomoya like everything was falling apart.

"Ha!" Youhei laughed, "Listen to you! You actually sound depressed about leaving this place. I remember when you dreaded coming here every day. Of course, back then you dreaded going home too. Hmmm… I guess I was the same way though."

"We changed." Tomoya agreed.

"We did… for the better." Youhei agreed. For a few minutes, he compared his lonely outcast life of a year ago to his life now, with friends… and Yukine. "Definitely for the better."

"I'm glad we stuck it out." Tomoya smiled. For a moment, he wondered how terribly his life would have turned out if he had just given up before the incredible events of his third year. A familiar voice startled him out of his melancholy as he neared the administration building.

"Ah! Okazaki, Sunohara. Congratulations on graduating." Koumura Toshio said as he approached the two reformed delinquents.

"Thank you." Youhei smiled at the old counselor.

"I'm going to be retiring this year myself. Although it took me a bit longer, you might say I'm graduating along with you." the wizened old man joked.

"Really?" Youhei couldn't imagine Hikarizaka High School without Koumura Toshio.

"I hate to say it, but without you around, I'm worried how things are going to work out for the Performance Club." Tomoya was concerned about Yukine's plans to use the Performance Club to keep up the involvement with Fuko's ikiryo.

"Don't be worried about the Performance club. I have already arranged for a certain returning Arts teacher to take over that responsibility." Koumura smiled as he issued a challenge, "By the way, I expect a lot from you two. It takes a special kind of student that requires my attention for one reason or another – for their entire time here. You've both come a long way in a short time, make me proud and keep it up."

"Thanks for sticking up for us for all these years. We probably would have been expelled a long time ago if it wasn't for you." Youhei said.

"You know, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. When me and Sunohara met each other in the office that day, did you plan that, or was that just a coincidence?" Tomoya asked.

"Huh, what's that supposed to mean?" Youhei asked.

"The two of us getting along really well, right?" Tomoya explained, "We were both troublemakers but if we had a good friend at school then maybe we wouldn't want to drop out. Is that why you wanted us to meet each other?"

"That's a good question." Koumura smiled, "I don't remember. Your memory starts to slip when you're my age. At any rate, you're members of society starting tomorrow." Koumura walked away from the two young boys that had become the capstone of his career as a counselor. Considering how many friends these boys both had now, and how both of their futures seemed to have brightened since last summer, Koumura no longer believed they would do something as irresponsible as skipping on their last day, but he reminded them anyway, "Be sure to show up for your last homeroom class so you can give a proper goodbye to your school days."

Tomoya and Youhei watched the old gentleman walking away for a moment and they knew. They knew he had supported them from the shadows for all these years. They knew he had believed that they could make something of themselves if they had the chance. Tomoya had told Youhei how Koumura had worked with Kobayashi Jun and how much of a difference that had led to making in both his life and indirectly – in Youhei's life as well. He had also intervened to give Kyou a chance when she would have been expelled if the school had simply done things by the book. Both Tomoya and Youhei faced the departing counselor and bowed as they said, " Thank you very much sir."

.

 **Wednes** **day** **eve** **ning** **,** **March 3** **–** **Ichinose residence**

* * *

The last homeroom and the graduation ceremony had gone by in a blur – and then there was the final early dismissal of his school life. Some tears were shed and there had been much shaking of hands and even hugs in the courtyard as they all left the school… many of them for the last time. Standing at the familiar front gate that led to the tree shrouded path that wound down the hill, Tomoya finished his final farewells. It seemed that most of his friends had somewhere to rush off to, and he had made some plans as well.

Tomoya took Tomoyo out to a restaurant for a late lunch. The meal was intended to repay her in some small way for how well she had taken care of him. After all, she had been preparing his meals every day since Kotomi and Kyou had left. In truth, she had been making everyone's meals for several months before the girls had left. Tomoyo had done this in an effort to give them as much study time as possible.

The restaurant food was good, but there were several dishes Tomoya was convinced that would have been better if Tomoyo or Kyou had made them. Still, it was a nice atmosphere and of course, somebody else had to do the clean-up. Holding hands as they left, Tomoya and Tomoyo took their time and walked through a park full of falling cherry blossoms.

"Tomoya, do you remember why I wanted to become the Student Council President?" Tomoyo asked.

"To save the sakura trees on the path up the hill." Tomoya answered.

"That's right." Tomoyo was surprised that he remembered. "I often wondered what focus my life would have if I ever accomplished that dream. Would I be lost, or would I find a new goal?"

"And?" Tomoya prodded her.

"I found a new goal… or maybe it's just an extension of the old goal." Tomoyo explained, "I want to get into politics."

"Politics?" Tomoya said the word as if it was an embarrassment.

"Yeah," Tomoyo said, "in the process of saving the sakura trees, I found out how a lot of this works. Businesses and even the central government influence local governments to give them what they want. Often, the people that live here don't even know what it is they are losing until the bulldozers show up."

"That's a pretty cynical view." Tomoya pointed out.

"But it's true." Tomoyo responded, "I found out that most of the people that I talked to, had no idea about the plans to destroy the trees. Many of them were town officials that should have known too."

"So, you like this town?" Tomoya asked.

"There are parts that I don't like." Tomoyo sighed, "But there are parts that I do like, and I want to protect them if I can. And… the best way I can think of, is to become a politician and fight for what I believe in."

"I see." Tomoya admired her determination.

"There are some things I will not lose without a fight. Some things I will not settle for…" Tomoyo looked at Tomoya and smiled, "You are responsible for some of that."

"Eh?" Tomoya wondered what he had done.

"My own father is not a good example of… anything really." Tomoyo told him, "He was a womanizer. He fought with my mother all the time. He was never there for us… for the children."

"I'm sorry…" Tomoya didn't know that her home life had been that bad. He suspected that it was not very good when she was so willing to move into the Kotomi house last summer, but he had not pried.

"The point is, after seeing how my father was… I never wanted to get involved with a man and I certainly never wanted to marry one." Tomoyo told him.

"Oh?" Tomoya wondered what all the fuss about being his girlfriend was about, if that was the case.

"I thought my father was the typical example of a man… but then you came along." Tomoyo took a deep breath before she continued, "At first I thought you were just like him – the way you would carry on with both Kotomi and Kyou. But you weren't like him at all. The care, love, and affection you have shown – not just for those two, but for all of your friends – has really moved me."

"I just did what I thought was right." Tomoya blushed at this onslaught of compliments.

"Exactly, and that is how your are. That is… Tomoya being Tomoya." Tomoyo squeezed his hand, "My opinions have been revised and I now think of you when I think of what it is to be a man. The bar has been raised and you are the one that has raised it."

"Eh?" Tomoya wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that.

"I have changed my mind about falling in love with a man and even about getting married." Tomoyo told him.

"Oh?" Tomoya asked.

"Yup," Tomoyo said with determination, "But I won't just marry any man! Like I've said, you have raised the bar. Any man I go out with will have to be at least as good as Okazaki Tomoya." Her head lifted to face the sky, but Tomoya could see that she was challenging her own future when she said, "Somewhere out there, I will find my own Okazaki."

"What?" Tomoya was stunned.

"I will not settle for anything less." Tomoyo said firmly. Then she turned Tomoya to face the Ichinose house and cheered, "Surprise!"

.

There was an arch of Hikarizaka gold and blue balloons over the entrance gate to the Ichinose house. A large banner hung across the front of the house that read, "Congratulations Hikarizaka Graduates!" It sounded as if music was being played and someone was singing. As they entered the house, Tomoya could see that the inside was decorated as well.

It was a great party and it was already underway when Tomoya and Tomoyo got there. All of their friends from the Performance Club were already there. Several members of the basketball team and the Karate Club, as well as many of Tomoya's classmates also came to the party. Some of them brought their dates, so there were a number of people in the house that Tomoya didn't know, but everyone knew who he was.

When the Karate Club members saw the downstairs room that had been converted into a dojo, many of them jokingly cried foul that this household had such an advantage, but it was all in fun. The Performance Club members were ecstatic when they found the professional grade, if old, Karaoke equipment. Tomoya was stunned when the former members of the Paranormal Mysteries Club performed a surprisingly good version of Candy Pop, and of course Nagisa and Ryou harmonized a version of the Dango song.

As the afternoon turned into evening, Tomoya found himself saying farewell to many acquaintances that he had met over the past year. The two members of the basketball team that had worked with him on so many early mornings to help him with the therapy that Kotomi had organized were there. Hearing their well wishes and congratulations made him remember those mornings of frustration but always there was Kotomi waiting for him on the bench with a breakfast bento and a smile. The karate club members reminded him of the morning workouts when Kotomi sometimes became so winded that he or Kyou would have to help her over to a seat to rest and get her breath back. When the junior members of the Performance Club left, he was reminded of the troubles that many of them went through with him to restart the Drama Club and get Nagisa's play ready on time. Sure, there had been difficulties and setbacks, but these were memories that he would treasure for a lifetime.

After he had made those goodbyes, what was left were the good and dear friends. There was quiet in the living room as he came back in. All eyes were on him and he felt as if this moment would shatter if anyone even breathed. These were his real friends. They were the ones that stuck by him and the ones he stuck by – through all the madness of the last year. No matter what the fates had thrown at them, these were the friends that stuck together through thick and thin and he never wanted to lose them. From the bittersweet looks on their faces, he was pretty sure they all felt the same way. Amazingly, it would be Sunohara that would be the first to break the spell.

"I'm sorry Okazaki, but we have to be up real early to get Mei to the train station." Youhei said apologetically as he, Yukine, and Fuko approached to say goodbye.

"Youhei," Tomoya clapped his shorter friend on the shoulder, "we have been friends the longest out of anyone else here. I look back on it now and I have to ask myself – Why? You're a complete idiot! What was I thinking?"

"I was thinking the same thing!" Youhei laughed, "Maybe it's because we are the same kind of idiot."

"Yukine," Tomoya smiled, "You are truly amazing. Why you decided to fall in love with this idiot, I will never understand. But I'm glad you did. I have never seen him as happy as he is when he is with you."

"Thank you Okazaki-san," Yukine said, "You have been a catalyst for many friendships. It is my greatest hope that they will all stand the test of time and we can always call each other friends."

"Fuko," Tomoya knelt in front of his ikiryo friend so that, for once, he was looking up into her face. "I know you may still be upset with me about what happened, but I would like to make this promise to you…"

"What?" Fuko's eyes were opened wide. To be honest, she _was_ still upset with Tomoya for abandoning Ushio in the cabin, but she also knew Tomoya was a man of his word and was willing to hear what kind of promise he was willing to make.

"If I ever run into Ushio again, I promise to try and save her. And, if possible, to bring her to see you."

"Ah!" Fuko flung herself into Tomoya's arms and hugged him tight, "That is the best promise you could ever make to Fuko! Fuko does not dislike the weird guy any more."

"Fujibayashi," Tomoya said to the short haired, blue eyed version of Kyou as he stood back up, "You are the lifesaver. You saved my life and you saved Nagisa's life too. You are the kindest person I have ever met."

"I… I think Nagisa is kinder than I am." Ryou blushed.

"No," Tomoya disagreed, "She is incredibly sweet, but you are the kindest. At least, that is how I feel."

"Thank you, Okazaki-san." Ryou continued to blush but was able to squeak out, "I… we will miss you, you have meant a lot to… us. And, uh… Okazaki-san?"

"Yes?" Tomoya smiled at the blushing girl.

"Please take care of my sister!" Ryou bowed with the request.

"I'll try, but you know how she is," Tomoya laughed, "she will probably be the one taking care of me!"

Everyone laughed a bit at Tomoya's joke. A few of them even imagined Kyou becoming furious with Tomoya as he tried to be nice to her for no apparent reason.

"Nagisa-chan," Tomoya smiled at the last one preparing to leave, "a lot of people say it all started with me. But they're wrong. It all started with you."

"What?" Nagisa was stunned that he would tell her this.

"If I hadn't run into you that morning at the bottom of the hill," Tomoya told her, "If I hadn't become interested in helping you restart the Drama Club… none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have been reunited with Kotomi, I probably wouldn't have become friends with the Fujibayashi's and I would have ended my high school years with no future. You were the catalyst that got me started on the track to try and be better than I was."

"Do… do you really think so?" Nagisa sounded amazed.

"I do." Tomoya said with certainty.

"Wow!" Nagisa was stunned just trying to absorb the idea.

"Now, Nagisa-chan," Tomoya sounded almost formal as he said, "I am going to ask something of you, since Kyou-chan is not here to ask it herself."

"Yes?" Nagisa looked up at Tomoya.

"Since you are going to be going off to the same college with Ryou, please take care of her and make sure she doesn't get sick from eating some of her own cooking." Tomoya said with a straight face.

"Hey!" Ryou gasped.

"That wasn't nice, Okazaki-san!" Nagisa reprimanded him, "Ryou-chan's cooking is a lot better now that I am teaching her."

"All right, all right!," Tomoya laughed, "I said Ryou was the kind one here… I never said I was. But I apologize, Fujibayashi-san. I was really trying to be funny – I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

.

Tomoya and Tomoyo stood on the porch and waved to their departing friends as they moved off into the darkness on the ways to their homes. The front door was barely closed when Tomoya sank to his knees and started crying.

"This is so hard." Tomoya wept as Tomoyo held him in her arms, "I never knew it would be so hard to say goodbye. To finally have such good friends, and then have to leave them…"

"You did good." Tomoyo comforted him, "You stayed strong until they left. And besides, it is only goodbye, it's not sayonara."

"What's the difference?" Tomoya looked up to the platinum blond.

"Have you learned nothing from speaking only English in this house for half a year?" Tomoyo lectured, "Sayonara is final. It is something you say when you know that you will never see that person again, or at least not for a very long time."

"But…" Tomoya started to object.

"No but's." Tomoyo picked him up and helped him to start walking down the hallway. "It is past time to get you to bed. You have an early day tomorrow if you're going to catch that flight to take you to your new home."

"Ah yes," Tomoya thought about what else it would mean to be away from this place for a while, "at least I can count on my lifestyle calming down. I'll be away from the craziness of this place, so all I have to concentrate on will be my college courses."

"Are you so sure?" Tomoyo asked, "You remember that Kotomi and Kyou are awaiting you at the other end of that plane trip, aren't they?"

"Heh, you're right." Tomoya chuckled, "But she's only taking freshman courses right now. There should be at least a year or two before she starts hitting me with surprises."

.

 **Wedne** **s** **day** **mor** **ning** **,** **March** **3** **–** **Houston residence**

* * *

Kotomi and Kyou both sneezed as they sat at the table. Kyou with her morning coffee and Kotomi with a calming tea. She had discovered that the babies didn't like it when she drank coffee… or at least one of them didn't.

"Do you think it's cold in here?" Kyou asked Kotomi.

"Not at all," Kotomi patted her belly and said, "I am very comfortable."

"Tomoya should be wrapping up the graduation party about now." Kyou said as she looked at the time on her phone, "Do you want to call him?"

"I do, but we should not." Kotomi sighed, "right now he is probably exhausted and trying to make sure he isn't forgetting anything. I do not want to add to his stress."

"Okay," Kyou didn't completely agree with Kotomi's reasoning, but it wasn't worth bickering about. Changing the subject, she asked, "What did you make of Professor Kobayashi's message?"

"I believe he intends to send us some help with the house since he is aware of my pregnancy." Kotomi answered.

"You still don't know who it is?" Kyou asked.

"No," Kotomi answered, "but he promised it would be someone familiar."

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," Kyou said, "the helper is supposed to be arriving on the same flight."

.

 **Thur** **s** **day** **mor** **ning** **,** **March** **4** **–** **Boarding the Plane**

* * *

Tomoya was still tired as he boarded the big jet that would make the long flight to take him to his loved ones. When he got on board the plane, the stewardess took a look at his ticket and directed him to the nose of the plane where the first class section was. Tomoya was shocked when he realized that he would be flying in such luxurious accommodations, but he was more surprised when he saw the familiar old man sitting in the seat next to his.

"Koumura-sensei?" Tomoya said with a bow.

"Not any more," chuckled the old man, "I'm just Koumura-san now. I've retired from the school and I'm starting a new career."

"A new career?" Tomoya thought that was a pretty brave thing to do for someone at Koumura's age. _Then again, it's a pretty brave thing to do at any age._

"Well," Koumura explained, "when one adventure ends, another one begins. That is true for both of us, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess you're right." Tomoya thought of all the changes in his life and wondered if this marked the beginning of a new adventure for him as well. After he made sure that his carry-on bag was properly stored Tomoya turned back to Koumura and asked, "So, this trip isn't a vacation for you?"

"No," Koumura smiled, "I'm on my way to where I'll be starting my new job."

"If you don't mind me asking," Tomoya said, "what kind of job is it?"

"I'm going to be a butler." Koumura answered.

"Wow, I would never have imagined that, but I bet you'd be a great butler!"

"You think so?" Koumura asked.

"I do." Tomoya assured him.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Okazaki-san." Tomoya was looking at the amazing first class seat that could fold out into a bed and didn't notice the twinkle in Koumura's eyes.


	27. Chapter 27 - The Big Reveal

**Thur** **s** **day** **morning** **,** **March** **4** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

Kyou studied Kotomi's body with concerned yet envious eyes. Alone in the big master bathroom that had been redone in a more open Japanese format, the were both naked as they got cleaned up for the day. Of course, it was Kotomi's belly that had all of Kyou's attention. Approaching the end of the second trimester of her pregnancy, she did not yet look like she had swallowed a basketball even though she was carrying twins. But there was no way someone could mistake her condition. Kyou certainly did not forget. Despite the bloated look that this pregnancy was visiting on Kotomi's previously svelte body, Kyou knew that the children of Tomoya and Kotomi's love were growing inside there. Proof of their bond. Proof that they loved each other. A form of proof that part of Kyou yearned for, but only a part. Truly, the idea of another living person growing inside her was still somewhat scary.

"Kyou-chan, is the ointment working?" Kotomi asked. She was standing with her hands on her head and holding her long purple hair out of the way so that Kyou could have an unimpeded look at her skin.

"I think so." Kyou had been diligently applying an ointment that the doctor had recommended to make the skin as pliable and elastic as possible. This was part of the multi-pronged approach to reduce the stretch-mark damage. Three times a day, Kyou would make sure that the ointment was properly applied to Kotomi's thighs, belly, and breasts. "Since I've never done this before I can't be sure, so remember to ask the doctor when you have your appointment on Monday."

"Eh?" Kotomi turned and let go of an avalanche of purple hair as she reached out for Kyou's hand. In an apprehensive voice she asked her lavender haired friend, "You'll be there with me, won't you?"

"Kotomi, have you forgotten already?" Kyou tried to keep up a confident and disarming smile as she stood up and looked into Kotomi's purple eyes, "I will be at the Cougar University College of Mathematics seminar that we talked about. But don't worry, someone else will be able to go with you."

"Huh?" Kotomi sounded puzzled.

"You forgot again, didn't you?" Kyou smiled as she hugged her confused friend. At first concerned about her recent memory lapses, Kotomi had gotten used to this after her Lamaze trainer had told her about the mental phases of a pregnancy. There was a nesting phase, an emotional phase, a happy phase, and yes… a forgetfulness phase. Not all women went through all phases but Kyou had watched Kotomi go through the happy phase and now seemed to be entrenched in the forgetfulness phase.

"What?" Kotomi's countenance took on a comically intense look as she tried desperately to remember whatever it was that Kyou might be talking about.

"Stop it," Kyou begged as she struggled not to laugh at the funny face her friend was making, "I'll tell you."

"No," Kotomi pouted, "just give me a hint."

"Okay," Kyou smiled and said, "today is the fourth of March."

"The fourth of March. The fourth of March. The fourth of March." Kotomi repeated with her hands on the sides of her head as if that might help her brain to work more efficiently. "So… it is Thursday and my appointment is on Monday, the eighth of March?"

"That's true, but it is also an important day because somebody is arriving at the airport today." Kyou gave her a huge hint.

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi's eyes lit up and she became visibly excited, "Tomoya-kun arrives today! Tomoya-kun arr…" In mid cheer Kotomi suddenly stopped prancing about and cried out, "Oh no! He might find out I'm pregnant!"

"Might?" Kyou laughed as she held her friend at arms distance and looked at her profile in the big mirror that spanned the wall between them and the big walk-in closet, "Unless he is a complete idiot, he's going to know you are pregnant as soon as he sees you."

"Oh…" Kotomi also looked at her profile in the mirror and sighed, "I suppose you're right. I hope he is not too mad that I have not told him about this."

"Don't you worry about that." Kyou cheered up her dear friend, "Sure, he'll be surprised. But it will probably only make that big oaf love you even more." _And it will too._ Kyou thought the bittersweet thought. _You are going to give him two sons and he is going to be thrilled with you. I only wish…_ Kyou thought to herself as she put her small hand on the distended belly that was Kotomi's badge of impending motherhood, _I only wish that I could do that too._ _Even if it does scare the hell out of me._

.

Kyou was fully dressed and ready to go but she found Kotomi collapsed on her bed covering herself with only the large body towel she had brought out from the bathroom. She was about to wake her slumbering friend when she got a message on her cell phone. For a moment, she was concerned that the message was from Tomoya and his flight had arrived early, but it was not.

 **Kobayashi-hakase:** Kyou-chan, when you leave for the airport, make sure you have enough room to pick up two people. The butler is arriving on the same flight and will be in the baggage claim area with Tomoya-kun. You should recognize him, but he will carry a letter of recommendation from me – should you need to review his references.

 **Kyou:** Thank you hakase. What is his name? Can you send me a picture of him?

After several minutes, there was still no response so Kyou sent another brief message.

 **Kyou:** hakase?

 _Still nothing. Well considering the time change I guess it's possible he sent the message just before going to sleep. Inconvenient… but I can work with this._ Kyou took another look at her sleeping friend and decided to let her rest. The drive from the University and Medical district where they lived to the big Intercontinental Airport was not a short trip and the traffic could be exhausting for someone in Kotomi's condition. Kyou laughed at her thoughts, _Ha! The traffic around here is exhausting for everyone! What is wrong with these Americans and their perverse aversion to building a decent mass transit system?_

With her usual traffic rant out of her system, Kyou put the towel away and covered her sleeping friend with a blanket and silently left the room. She left a note for Kotomi on the refrigerator before grabbing the keys to the sedan off the hook near the entrance to the garage. _I'm going to see Tomoya-kun again!_ With a smile and a skip in her step, she left the quiet house and drove off through the tree lined streets.

.

 **Thur** **s** **day** **late morning** **,** **March** **4** **–** **Houston Intercontinental Airport**

* * *

Tomoya woke up when he heard the announcement that the plane would soon start descending to its destination. Glancing out the window, he couldn't make out any landmarks. There was only a thick layer of clouds all the way to the horizon. He was in the middle of a yawn and stretch when motion beside him reminded him of the familiar old man riding in the next seat over. Koumura was quietly reading a book about local cuisine, culture, and customs. _I guess it's never too late to learn. Of course, he would need to know that stuff if he is going to be a butler here._ About to check the time on his cell phone, Tomoya suddenly remembered that he couldn't turn it on again until after the plane had landed.

"Koumura-sensei," Tomoya asked after noticing the old gentleman's archaic wristwatch, "how long have I been asleep?"

#Almost ten hours.# the old man answered in English, #And, you should really start getting used to calling me Koumura-san now.#

"Ah yes… Koumura-san." Tomoya tried it out but instantly felt like he had just broken a rule.

#How did it feel?# Koumura asked in English again.

"Weird… and wrong." Tomoya said with some distaste. _Yeah, I don't care much for that. But after we land I'll probably never see the old man again so I guess I can put up with it until then._ Suddenly, something occurred to him, "I was asleep for ten hours? Shouldn't it be night time now?"

#Time zones.# Koumura answered, #We are on the other side of the world now. It is indeed night time back in Japan, but it will be morning on the same day when we land.#

"You see," Tomoya teased, "even now you are still teaching me things. You still are Koumura-sensei!"

#Maybe so,# Koumura smiled, #but I doubt you will have the opportunity to call me that much longer.#

"Oh?" Tomoya figured it was because they would be going their separate ways once they landed, but it sounded like the old man was alluding to something else entirely.

#Hasn't your wife been insisting that you speak only English at home in preparation for coming here?# Koumura asked, #Remember that English language and custom do not use honorific suffixes like in Japanese. So there will be no chan, kun, san, senpai, or sensei here.#

 _That's right!_ Tomoya realized that Koumura had been speaking only in English since he had woken up. _I better get used to this to_ _o_ _… starting now!_

"I hope that my English will be as good as yours." Tomoya said to the old man.

"I would not worry too much about it, Mister Okazaki." Koumura encouraged him, "You are already doing quite well and you are about to be immersed into an English speaking environment. That will help you quite a bit as well."

"Thank you, Mr. Koumura." Tomoya replied and felt a bit of confidence after using the western honorific prefix correctly.

"Very well," Koumura accepted this form of address. "Shall we get ready for landing? We should be down soon."

"Yes," Tomoya started storing things away and offered to his old mentor, "after we land, I will stay with you to the baggage claim area."

"Thank you, Mr. Okazaki." Koumura smiled as he thought, _But I believe we will be together a bit longer than that._

.

Kyou spied Tomoya standing next to an old man, near the baggage carousel. They seemed to be having a conversation so Kyou decided that this would be a good way to sneak up on the unsuspecting Tomoya and surprise him. Moving slowly, she circled around to the side where he wasn't looking and was about to make her move when the old man gave her away.

"Fujibayashi Kyou," Koumura called out, "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Huh… Koumura-sensei! WHAAAT?" Kyou felt like she had suddenly lost all color. Her skin, her hair, her eyes… even her clothes had blanched at seeing her high school counselor here. The counselor that had dealt with her after that horrible incident with the dictionary… and Tomoya's face. The counselor that had watched over her for the remainder of her last year at the school. But also the counselor that had decided that she should not be expelled… that she was worth the effort to save.

"Kyou-chan?" Tomoya could see the shock registering on Kyou's face and was caught between wanting to laugh at something so unusual… and being concerned, because it was so unusual. He reached out to her and held her shoulder. "Kyou-chan?"

"Oh!" Kyou started, "Uh… I was going to surprise you but seeing sensei here… uh… surprised me."

"Please Miss Kyou," Koumura insisted, "I am no longer a teacher and I am no longer with the high school. The title of 'sensei' is no longer appropriate for my new career."

"New career?" a puzzled Kyou asked.

"This should explain everything." Koumura said as he handed over an envelope containing a folded document.

"What… what's going on?" Tomoya looked from the stupefied expression on Kyou's face to Koumura's wizened pokerface and tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

"This…" Kyou was almost afraid to ask. She was a clever girl though and had been able to add everything up even in her shocked state. "This contains a letter of recommendation from Kobayashi-hakase, does it not?"

"It does." Koumura confirmed.

"Kobayashi-hakase?" Tomoya felt the pieces sliding into place. The letter from Kobayashi-hakase was the last piece that he needed to put together a puzzle that had been bothering him since the beginning of the flight. Remembering Tomoyo and Kotomi's lessons on American culture, Tomoya turned to the old gentleman and offered his hand as he said, "I see. Mr. Koumura, I hope that we do not cause you too much trouble."

"Thank you Mr. Okazaki." Koumura could not stop the ingrained habit of bowing as he told his new employer, "I shall do my best to keep the household running so that the three of you can focus on your studies."

"We can talk more on the ride to the house," Tomoya said as he dropped the handshake and turned back to Kyou, "But now, I have to properly greet someone I haven't seen in some while."

"It's good to see…" Kyou had put her hand out to shake hands as she had just seen Tomoya do with Koumura-sens… Mr. Koumura. But her motion and words were interrupted by Tomoya's swift embrace. In a moment, she was in his arms and her feet were dangling several centimeters from the floor as he held her tight. Her reaction was instantaneous as well. Her arms were around him and her tearful face was buried in his shoulder.

"Kyou!" Tomoya said urgently as he held her tight, "I have missed you so much!"

"I have missed you too!" Kyou said into his ear as her arms wrapped around his neck. "We have both missed you, Tomoya!"

"Both…" Tomoya suddenly realized something was missing, "both? Uh… where is Kotomi?"

"Hmmmm," Kyou could feel Tomoya relaxing his hold on her but she was still holding onto his neck and wanted to be held just a little longer before they had to go. Secretly, she reveled in the thought that he had been so happy to see her that he didn't notice that his wife was missing until she brought it up. Then again, he had just arrived from a very long flight and had just been surprised with Koumura's revelation. So, it wasn't really fair to make that kind of assumption on him. "She has a Thursday class that will start before we get back."

"Oh?" Tomoya remembered that Kotomi had jumped right into the spring semester even though the school year technically didn't start until the following August. "How is she doing in her classes?"

Kyou told Tomoya and Koumura about Kotomi's involvement at her school and other things that the girls had been up to. Well, most of it anyway. After the surprise-bomb that had been dropped on her at the airport with the arrival of Koumura, she was holding out the big surprise for them.

.

 **Thur** **s** **day** **afternoon** **,** **March** **4** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

Tomoya remembered most of the conversation from the airport, but not everything. Even though he had been asleep on the flight for over ten hours, his body was still used to the cycle of day and night in Japan and he found it difficult to stay awake. The drive had been over big crowded freeways most of the way to the house. Gazing absently out the windows, he watched the scenery whizzing past as Kyou maneuvered the sedan down into the heart of the city, and then out the other side. The 'downtown' area had plenty of skyscrapers; infinitely more than his hometown, but nothing like Tokyo. Then again, that wasn't so unexpected.

Before following Kotomi to America, Tomoya had read up on the place where he would be living for the next four or five years. Much of what he found was surprising. He had heard that everything was supposed to be bigger in Texas, and expected to be riding horses and seeing lots of cactus, but Houston was nothing like that. Even though it was the biggest city in the state, Tokyo's population was six times larger and had five times more skyscrapers. This had given him a little pride at first, but he soon realized that the comparison was a bit unfair. States were like Prefectures and if he were to compare Houston to the largest city in his Prefecture… Anyway, it was finding out about the climate that had stunned him the most. Located on the Gulf coast, the city was more like Okinawa than anywhere else in Japan. Hot and humid through most of the year, the city was covered in Palm trees and a hundred varieties of big spreading shade trees.

Now that he was here, he did not see as many Palm trees as he had been expecting, but the big shade trees seemed to be everywhere. Indeed, when Kyou finally got off the unnerving freeways and drove down into the neighborhood where their house was, he got to see those trees up close. The branches interlaced overhead and made a leafy roof over the streets.

 _Leaves?_ "Kyou-chan, are these evergreens?" Tomoya asked as he leaned forward in his seat to look up at the leafy roof overhead.

"No." Kyou laughed. She had also been surprised when she noticed all the bushes and trees coming to life in February, but she found it amusing that Tomoya had asked the same question she did only a few weeks ago. She told him, "The residents here tell me that Spring starts much earlier here and summer seems like it lasts for six months. They say that winter is only a few weeks to a month."

"So… it really is a lot like Okinawa." Tomoya felt reassured that all that he read was being verified. But at the same time he wished that things would have been more different. There was just something odd about traveling half way around the world to see a place that didn't look all that different from home.

"It is not all that different from home, except for the flatness." Kyou responded as she pulled into the driveway and waited for the garage door to open.

"Huh?" Tomoya looked to Kyou for an elaboration.

"It would take an eight hour drive to get to the nearest mountains from here. You can't even see them from the tallest building in the city." Kyou said wistfully. She had not missed them at first, but after a while it seemed like the featureless horizon in all directions was just sort of… well, boring.

Kotomi wasn't home when they got back to the house. Kyou assumed that she had gone off to her college when she noticed that the convertible was gone. _Huh, I guess she did go to class after all._ Kyou hadn't lied to Tomoya and Koumura at the airport. Kotomi actually did have an afternoon class on Thursdays but she had decided to skip it when they were planning to go to the airport together. Since Kyou changed the plans and went to the airport by her self, it appeared that Kotomi had decided to go to her class after all.

Kyou knew they would have plenty of time before Kotomi got back. The Thursday afternoon class was a combination of lecture and lab and she rarely returned home before dinner time when she went to that class. Kyou was able to give them a tour of the house and help them with their luggage. Both of them were impressed with the house that Kobayashi-hakase had arranged for them and Koumura was appreciative that his room was on the ground floor. He knew that he would have to navigate the stairs several times a day in the course of his duties, but every little bit helped with his old joints.

.

The house had been quiet for a while. Tomoya was in the master bedroom upstairs, finishing off the task of putting his things away. Koumura was getting his room in order while Kyou was making dinner in the kitchen. The initial shock of having Koumura with them was over and she was looking forward to the evening meal with everyone. And, of course she was still looking forward to the surprise awaiting Tomoya.

Remembering back to the beginning of her second year in high school, Kyou remembered how Tomoya and Youhei had tortured her with a ridiculous wild goose chase that had her running all over the school to catch up with some guy that allegedly liked her. When she finally did catch up, she had found Youhei and Tomoya in an empty classroom getting ready to plant the next misdirection. Even though she had thrashed them soundly at the time, she had never felt entirely avenged for the embarrassment of their little joke. And, there was her not inconsiderable disappointment at getting to the end of the directions and not finding someone that liked her. Kyou wasn't normally gullible, but the boy's gag had occurred the day after her sister Ryou had read a fortune that for-told Kyou finding love with someone after a letter that would guide her to him. After all that hope and effort, she had been violently upset that the letter had only led her to Tomoya…

 _Tomoya! Someone that likes me?_ The conversation in the bedroom with her sister had been a long time ago, but she remembered that she was supposed to meet 'a nice boy' that would tell her that her liked her. She got a letter in her shoe locker the following morning that turned out to be a prank, but it did eventually lead her to Tomoya. And, Tomoya did tell her that he loved her... _Wow! I wonder if Ryou had everything right but the timing?_

"That smells wonderful," Kotomi commented as she leaned over Kyou's arm to sniff the different skillets of simmering deliciousness.

"Kotomi!" A surprised Kyou reacted, "I didn't hear you come in."

"I just got here," Kotomi replied, "I left the lab early. For some reason I was very excited about getting home today, but now I can not seem to remember why."

"Oh, don't worry. This forgetfulness shouldn't last much longer." Kyou hugged her friend and asked, "Do you feel up to setting the table?"

"Yes, I can do that much." Kotomi started to get out place settings for two when Kotomi stopped her.

"Go ahead and set four places." Kyou said as she continued to stir a sauce and watch over a skillet that was about ready.

"Four?" Kotomi said the word as a question, but her expression seemed as if she had figured something out, "I was wondering why you were making so much food. Are they friends of yours?"

"Yes." Kyou smiled while she turned off the heat under the remaining skillets and wiped her hands off.

"I hope they like me." Kotomi was still nervous around people she had not met before but she was much better than those early days when Tomoya took her around the school trying to help her make friends.

"I am sure they do." Kyou said with a smile, "Now you just rest here and I will be back with them in a minute."

"Oh!" Kotomi cried out and Kyou turned around to see Koumura who had just come into the dining room to see if he could help with the dinner preparations.

"Now, now… don't get up so suddenly!" Koumura moved around the table to greet the purple haired girl, "In your condition, you need to be more fluid in your movement."

Kyou was disappointed that Koumura seemed to already know about Kotomi's pregnancy. Secretly, she had really been looking forward to shocking the old man. But, it figured that Kobayashi-hakase would give Koumura-sensei all the information he would need to do a proper job. Still, she was fairly certain that Kotomi's godfather hadn't told Tomoya anything. There was a feral smile as she ran up the stairs to get fetch Tomoya for dinner.

The smile disappeared when she opened the door to the bedroom. Tomoya wasn't putting things away at all. Although, from the stack of empty boxes it appeared that he had at least finished that task before he collapsed on the bed in nothing but his boxers and socks.

"Oh," Kyou breathed deeply as she approached the bed and got a better look at Tomoya's sleeping form. The muscles in his arms were bigger than she remembered. His chest seemed broader and his abs were nicely defined as well. He was definitely in better shape than she had ever seen him before. "How…" Suddenly it occurred to her. _Tomoyo… with all the testing done, there was nothing to do for two months but pound the English lessons and practice in the dojo. And how much did you have to practice with her to end up looking like this?_ Kyou gently touched his hard stomach above the waistline of the underwear he was wearing with a single finger. He felt hot to the touch and didn't stir when a finger became her entire hand. Leaning over the bed, she looked into his face as she put her hand in motion. His skin was smooth under her fingers. She had felt the muscles under the skin as her hand ran up his torso to his well muscled chest.

Closing her eyes, she remembered the time she had found him asleep in the courtyard at the school. He had been attractive to her eyes even then, but nothing like what he was now. She could feel the heat from his body infusing her hand and working its way up her arm to her heart… to the very core of her being. His heartbeat was felt through her fingertips on his strong chest and the rhythm seemed hypnotic. Her face was lowering to his and she could feel his breath on her cheek. Kyou's breathing became ragged as her inner desires awoke and set her soul on fire. Youhei was not here to stop her this time. Nobody was here to interrupt…

"Kyou-chan?" Tomoya's voice hit her ears at the same time that she felt his hand on the back of her head.

"Eh?" Kyou was snapped her out of her trance and her eyes flew open to discover that her face was mere centimeters from his now. "Erm… uh… I just…" she tried to find some excuse for being where she was as she tried to stand up. But she couldn't stand up. "Mrrllllf!" Kyou made a desperate noise as Tomoya held her in place and brought his lips up to hers in a kiss that both of them had been looking forward to for several months.

Tomoya kissed Kyou while pulling her into a gentle, but firm embrace. It wasn't the energetic kiss of people in an affair that were rushed for time. It was a long, slow, passionate kiss that lovers give each other. He knew that Kyou preferred this kind of kiss and he knew that she would melt into him in moments if he kept it up. There was little in life that he wanted more than to make Kyou melt at that very moment.

"Tomoya-kun…" Kyou said between kisses, "dinner is ready… and Kotomi is here… and she wants to see you so very badly!"

"Kotomi is here?" Tomoya stopped the kisses and sat up with Kyou still in his arms. _If she's here, why didn't she come to wake me up? Is she upset with me about something?_

"She's exhausted from school and everything or she would be up here too," Kyou had felt Tomoya's confusion. She was fine with surprising him, but she didn't want to introduce any misunderstandings into their relationship. She was, after all, part of the relationship as well.

"Okay," Tomoya hoped that was all there was to it as he looked around the room for his discarded pants and shirt. "Let me just throw these on and I'll come down with you."

.

As happy as Kotomi was to learn that Koumura was going to be with them, her heart exploded into joy when she saw Tomoya enter the room with Kyou.

"Kotomi-chan!" Tomoya cried out in happiness as soon as he was in the room.

"Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi joyfully replied as she revealed her very pregnant condition when she stood up from behind the table.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya gasped in shock when he saw her swollen belly.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi's voice resounded of fear when she heard the shock in Tomoya's voice.

"Koto…" Tomoya's voice trailed off as this world and all it's absurdity left the domain of his conscious mind.

"KYOU-CHAN!" Kotomi screamed when she saw Tomoya feint, but the lavender haired girl was ready for this possibility. She caught his limp body and helped him to gently lie on the floor.

.

When Tomoya opened his eyes again, he was greeted with the sight of Kotomi's crying face. His head was resting on her thigh and his cheek was pressed against the warmth of her… pregnant belly. _So, that wasn't a dream._ He thought as he reached up to caress her face and brush the errant strand of purple hair out of the way so he could properly see her.

She grasped his hand and held it firm against the side of her head. Despite Kyou-chan's firm assurances, and the fact that Tomoya was being very gentle with her now, Kotomi was worried. No, more than worried, she was scared that her husband would be furious with her. He might become too upset to stay with a troublesome girl like her. She was in dread of what Tomoya might say or do next.

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya asked gently.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi responded through her tears as she held on tightly to his hand.

"Boy or girl?" Tomoya asked as he looked into her eyes.

"Um… boys." Kotomi replied haltingly.

"Boys?" Tomoya asked.

"Twin boys," Kotomi confirmed, "according to the ultrasound. But, not identical."

"You're giving me sons." Tomoya thought about what this meant for his life. He remembered what his grandmother had told him about how his mother and father had married and how he had been born shortly after they had left high school. He also remembered how difficult it had been on his father after his mother died. And for him… to grow up without a mother. Amidst these memories, tears came to his eyes and he begged his wife, "Do not die."

"I will not die, Tomoya-kun." Kotomi was concerned about this change in Tomoya, but she was happy that his reaction wasn't anger or disgust. "I have been seeing a doctor regularly and I am quite healthy. The boys are healthy as well."

"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya stopped her before she could give her full medical report.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi was no longer as scared of his reaction as she had been before. But she was startled when he suddenly sat up next to her.

"I love you so much!" Tomoya took her in his arms and kissed her in the energetic, passionate, and probing way that she liked. He didn't crush her body into his like he wanted though. No… it might be a while before he felt comfortable doing that.


	28. Chapter 28 - It's On!

**Friday morning, March 5** **–** **Houston** **Medical Center**

* * *

The day after arriving, Tomoya would discover that he was going to have a busy schedule whether he was over his jet-lag or not. The weather was good so Kyou handed him a helmet and made him ride on the back of her 'bike' to the place where she was taking her Doula and Lamaze training.

"What… what is that thing?" Tomoya stammered after he got his helmet off.

"What do you mean?" Kyou shut down the bike and pulled her purse out of the saddlebag.

"That is nothing like the bike you had back home." Tomoya said accusingly.

"The bike I had back home was a scooter." Kyou said proudly, "This is a real motorcycle."

"It is huge!" Tomoya said that instead of saying it was scary. When Kyou told him he would be riding on the back of her 'bike' he wasn't too worried since those things were small and didn't go all that fast. But he had been thinking of the little scooter that Kyou had back in high school. He had not been ready for the acceleration and power that he felt from the big engine between his legs.

"Of course it is. It's called a Road King." Kyou pointed to the name proudly emblazoned on the gas tank. "With a name like that, it is not going to be tiny."

"Whatever… I do not feel safe on it. I kept feeling like I was going to fall off." Tomoya grumped.

"You might, if you don't hold on properly. What were you holding onto anyway?" Kyou asked when she realized she never once felt his hands on her.

"The bar on the back of the seat." Tomoya said as they walked into the building.

"The sissy bar?" Kyou smirked, "On the way home, try holding onto me. You will feel safer that way."

"Are you sure?" Tomoya had initially wanted to hold onto her, but was worried that it might offend her.

"Of course," Kyou chided, "that is the normal way for the passenger to hold on."

"Oh… okay, I will try it that way when we go home." Tomoya was blushing a little at the thought of holding onto Kyou so brazenly out in public, but Kyou was looking at the information on the bulletin board and didn't see it.

"Okay, you go to classroom one and I will be in classroom four." Kyou pointed to the double-doors at the end of the hallway.

"We are not in the same class?" Tomoya asked.

"No," Kyou explained briefly, "You are in a beginner Lamaze class and I am in a class for Doula and Lamaze training."

"What is Doula?" Tomoya had been reading about Lamaze but had not run across that word.

"It is…" Kyou realized that the explanation could take a while and elected for a shortcut, "Do you know what a midwife is?"

"Vaguely." Tomoya answered.

"Lamaze training is for a partner while Doula training is for someone that will be more like a midwife." Kyou explained.

"Did Kotomi ask you to take that?" Tomoya was impressed that Kyou was going so far to help Kotomi. He was thinking that the hospital would take care of all that.

"No!" Kyou folded her arms and fumed a little, "I am capable of thinking on my own, you know!"

"I am impressed." Tomoya surprised the lavender haired girl when he wrapped his arms around her, kissed her on the side of the head, and told her, "No matter how much of an angry bad-ass you want to act like, you really do care about your friends."

"Tomoya…" Kyou was blushing furiously, but didn't try to struggle out of his embrace. It felt so good to have his arms around her. She had cuddled up to him closely last night but she had been missing his touch, his heat, and his scent for two months. One night was enough to remind her of how complete she felt when he was around, but it would take more than a few days to replenish those reserves.

"Honestly," Tomoya caressed Kyou's head as he told her, "I really do not know how we would do this without you."

A tear came to Kyou's eye. Ryou had talked to her about ending up as a third wheel in this odd relationship, but neither Tomoya nor Kotomi ever made her feel that way. Rather than a wheel, she was more like a third gear, but one that was integral for the machine to function. It had been a difficult perspective to grasp, but Kotomi had been adamant that it was in fact, a more natural lifestyle even if it did not conform to the societal norms that other people had agreed upon. After two months of living with Kotomi and hearing her rationalize and dismiss all of Kyou's concerns, she felt that she was finally able to accept the relationship that Kotomi espoused, even if she was not able to fully embrace it. That might… take a little longer. Kyou had unfolded her arms and had just placed her hands on Tomoya's when she heard a familiar voice.

"Ah, Kyou!" her instructor called out as she walked toward classroom one, "It's good to see you finally brought the future father with you. I'm sure y'all will make some beautiful babies!"

"What?" Kyou blushed hard.

"When you're done huggin, y'all come on down to classroom one." the smiling instructor patted Tomoya on the back as she walked by, "We have several new people in the beginners class today so we'll be combining the classes and letting the Doula's show what they know."

"Does the instructor know that you are in the training to help out a friend that is pregnant?" Tomoya asked.

"Yes, she does." Kyou grumbled, "She just likes to tease me."

"Oh really?" Tomoya thought to himself, _I think I'm going to like her._

.

Sure enough, in all the practical examples that the instructor had the introductory students run through, she would pair up Tomoya with Kyou as the highly embarrassed mother to be.

"Hee hee hoo hoo hee hee hoo hoo." Kyou did the breathing exercise despite her fearsome blush.

"You do that really well." Tomoya complemented her with an expression that was halfway between a smile and a smirk.

"Shut up!" Kyou really did want to scream and throw something. Surprisingly, the breathing exercise actually did work to help her calm down. "Hee hee hoo hoo hee hee hoo hoo."

.

When it was time to leave, Kyou almost turned around and screamed at Tomoya when she felt his hands on her sides. She recovered quickly when she remembered that she told him to hold onto her on the ride home. Shortly after they got out of the parking lot and onto the streets, she felt his hands move up so that he was holding onto her upper torso. His fingertips brushed against the sides of her breasts making her gasp. He wasn't reaching around and blatantly grabbing her, but he wasn't moving them away either. After a few moments, the position of his fingers coupled with the vibration of the motorcycle started to have a profound impact on Kyou. Now panting so much that her face shield was starting to fog up, she thought of pulling over and discussing motorcycle safety when he suddenly moved his hands away. They were on her shoulders now. At first, that seemed like the best thing, but she needed free movement of her arms to manage the big road cruiser. Also, there was a part of her that wanted to feel him touching her sensitive places again. It was powerful and euphoric and… despite how embarrassed it made her, she wanted him to make her feel like that again. As if he could read her mind, his hands moved back down to her ribs and she saw sparkles on the edge of her vision as the euphoria returned. Lifting the wind shield on her helmet just enough to keep it from fogging, Kyou was glad that Tomoya couldn't see her deep blush through the motorcycle helmet.

Tomoya tried putting his hands on Kyou's waist. Although it did feel safer than trying to hold onto the sissy-bar, it was an awkward position since he was taller than her and sitting on a higher seat. Trying to find a safer and more comfortable position, he raised his hands and held onto her torso around her ribs. Kyou didn't seem to react, but after a moment he realized he was feeling some very soft flesh at his fingertips. Suddenly embarrassed and worried that Kyou might get mad at him, he put his hands up on her shoulders. Although a seemingly safe place, it looked like it might interfere with her arms while she was trying to operate the motorcycle. Reluctantly, he moved his hands back to her ribs. His face flared with blush when he felt the soft flesh again pressing back against his fingertips. He had been reluctant to move his hands back here because he knew where his lust addled imagination would go from here. It took a supreme act of will to keep his hands where they were and not try to touch more of the heavenly soft flesh. Hoping that she couldn't feel the lump pressing against her back, Tomoya was glad that Kyou couldn't see his deep blush through the motorcycle helmet.

.

 **Tues** **day** **evening** **,** **M** **arch 9** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

"Miss. Kyou, I would like to thank you for chauffeuring us around today." Koumura said from the back seat of the sedan.

"It is not a problem," Kyou assured him but added, "It will just be for a few weeks until you get your licenses." She was picking them up from the same Driver's Ed school that she had attended only a few weeks prior. Will you need me to take you to your class this evening?"

"No, that will not be necessary." Koumura told her, "The senior center is nice enough to have a small bus that will pick up and drop off people for events and classes.

"Huh?" Tomoya asked, "What are you doing at the senior center?"

"I signed up for a conversational Spanish class." Koumura answered.

"I wonder if I should take that too?" Tomoya said aloud.

"It is an advanced class for someone that already schooled or experienced in the language." Kyou warned him.

"Eh?" Tomoya was surprised, "Koumura-sensei, do you know Spanish?"

"I took the classes in high school and college." Koumura explained, "As a young man, I had a dream of some day going to Madrid. Others my age wanted to go to Paris, London, or New York… but it was always Madrid that I dreamed of."

"Did you ever go?" Tomoya asked.

"No," Koumura smiled wistfully, "and I rarely got to put all my learning to use so I don't know if I will be ready for this class after all."

"I doubt the language has changed that much since you took your classes." Tomoya said hopefully.

"Maybe not, but I have." Koumura chuckled, "There is much I will have forgotten and then there is the difference of the language itself."

"Huh?" Kyou asked, "I thought you just said it wouldn't have changed much?"

"Not in time, but in place." Koumura told his two former students, "What I learned is called Castilian Spanish, or the Spanish of Spain. The varieties of Spanish as it is spoken in the Americas have more differences than all the dialects of Japanese."

"But it is still Spanish, right?" Kyou asked, "Even if there are differences, it is still the same language."

"It is, but I have read that the differences can be so challenging that two Spanish speaking people from two different places will sometimes speak to each other in English to avoid misunderstandings." Koumura told them.

"Wow, I guess I should not take Spanish after all." Tomoya said.

"No, Mr. Okazaki," Koumura leaned forward in his seat and put a hand on the young man's shoulder, "Do not let yourself be discouraged. It is a fine language. And, like English, it is used in many places around the world."

"Hmmm." Tomoya looked deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?" Kyou asked him.

"The degree plans that I have been looking over." Tomoya said, "Most of the ones that I am interested in call for a foreign language. I was thinking about taking Japanese to make it easy on myself, but now I'm thinking about taking Spanish."

"Mr. Okazaki, if you don't mind my saying so…" Koumura started.

"Yes?" Tomoya encouraged.

"I've seen your high school grades in Japanese." Koumura reminded the younger man, "A college level Japanese class may not be as easy for you as you think."

"Grrlf!" Kyou tried to hold back her laughter after seeing the stunned look on Tomoya's face. Being honest with herself, she knew she wasn't trying very hard.

"All right then," Tomoya decided, "Spanish it is."

.

 **Sun** **day** **noon** **,** **M** **arch** **2** **1** **–** **Furukawa residence**

* * *

A fairly large group was gathered around the table in the Furukawa's living room. Of course, Akio, Sanae, Nagisa, and Ryou were there. Until just a few minutes ago Akio had been minding the bakery while the others were preparing a large meal.

From the Okazaki house, Youhei, Yukine, Mei, and Fuko arrived first. Mei had been assisting her future sister-in-law with a shrimp and rice dish that Yukine had been learning in her Home Studies class. The two of them went on into the kitchen with their covered dish and joined the other girls in talk and preparation. Youhei stopped in the bakery to chat with Akio and Fuko was mesmerized by some star shaped pastries that Akio had made up just for her.

Tomoyo was next to arrive… or return rather. She had been there early in the morning to help Akio with the morning preparations, but had returned to the Okazaki house to get some studying done. With her arrival and the announcement that lunch was ready, the bakery sign was flipped to 'Closed' and everyone headed in to the table full of food.

"Ryou," Sanae called out, "you heard from your sister recently, right? How are they doing?"

"They're doing fine. Kotomi's pregnancy is coming along and…" Ryou started to say.

"Kotomi's WHAT?" Mei interjected.

"Youhei, did you not tell your sister?" Yukine asked her fiancé.

"Oh, uh… it must have slipped my mind," Youhei said weakly.

"Onii-chan!" Mei pouted at her brother.

"Sorry." Youhei apologized to Mei.

"When did _that_ happen?" Mei demanded.

"Apparently last September," Ryou answered, "around the time of Kyou and my birthday party."

"Last September…" Mei was clearly counting the months in her head, "then she would be…"

"Six months along." Ryou confirmed, "More precisely, she is in her twenty-eighth week and is pregnant with fraternal twins."

"TWINS?" Mei gaped.

"It looks like both of them are boys." Tomoyo added.

"Boys?" Mei looked down at the table. She was starting to feel crushed that nobody had bothered to share something so incredible with her.

"We didn't know until a few weeks ago." Nagisa offered.

"Kotomi and Kyou were keeping it a secret until Tomoya arrived there." Tomoyo told her.

"They didn't even tell Tomoya?" Mei sounded incredulous.

"No, and for a good reason that I agree with." Akio challenged.

"They were afraid that if Tomoya found out, he would do something stupid." Youhei groused. He was upset with that assumption because it was the kind of thing they would think about him as well.

"Like what?" Mei asked.

"He might have had an attack of responsibility, given up on school and stayed here to find a job and support his family." Sanae said.

"But that's…" Mei wanted to rebuke the possibility but as the words sank in, she realized that she could easily see something like that happening, "… entirely possible."

"Six months, huh?" Nagisa said aloud, "I guess she's taking it easy now."

"Not really," Tomoyo chimed in, "I have heard from Kotomi recently. She asked about all of you and talked about the classes she was taking. She also mentioned that Koumura-sensei was there and working as a butler in their house."

"WHAT?" several voices gaped.

"Who is Koumura-sensei?" Mei asked.

"He was our counselor at the High School," Ryou explained, "but he retired when we graduated."

"Kotomi-chan didn't say anything about her pregnancy?" Sanae asked Tomoyo.

"Not without being prompted." Tomoyo sighed, "I had to remind her that she was pregnant before she remembered to talk about it."

"That… does sound like Kotomi-chan." Youhei laughed.

"It really does." Akio laughed as well. Several others in the room laughed with him.

"Fuko wants to see the babies!" Fuko announced with her characteristic determination.

"We all want to see the babies." Sanae assured Fuko.

"Don't worry Fuko," Youhei told the small girl as he put his arm around Yukine, "they still plan on coming to our wedding this winter and they want to bring the babies with them."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Sanae cheered.

"I only hope the rest of you can make it back then too." Youhei added and the room seemed to get a bit more sombre.

He wasn't trying to kill the mood, but everyone was skating around the real reason that they had all gathered at the Furukawa house today. This would be the last Sunday of the spring break that they could do this. Soon, Ryou and Nagisa would be leaving for their college. Youhei would be getting ready to start at the Tokyo Police Academy. Mei would be returning home. Sanae would be busy getting ready to teach a new semester at the local middle school. Tomoyo and Yukine would be preparing for their last year in high school. Akio would still be around running the bakery until Nagisa graduated college. Fuko… no-one liked to talk about the future of their ikiryo friend; it was a difficult subject for everyone who knew her.

Fuko's sister and brother-in-law were not able to make the planned lunch at the Furukawa's because they had been summoned to the hospital. The news was good in that Fuko's body had been gradually getting stronger and new equipment showed that her brain was not only functioning, but seemed to be extraordinarily active. The hard part for the Yoshino's was in deciding what to do next. They could let her slowly get better as it appeared she was doing, or they could try a new treatment that showed promising results, but was still in it's experimental stage. Amongst her friends, this re-invigorated the speculation of what would happen when Fuko's real body woke up. Would everybody's memory of the ikiryo be lost? Would all of the friends she had made still remember her but she wouldn't remember any of them? Would they ever see the ikiryo they had all come to know and love, after the real body woke up? They were all difficult questions and most of the answers were disheartening.

Fuko didn't truly understand why the mood had become so melancholy but she thought it might be her fault. No-one had said anything to make her feel that way, but everyone seemed to be looking at her with sadness – then they would look away when she returned their glance. She felt the urge to do or say something to make everyone happy again. An idea came to Fuko! There was something she could say that might do it, but she had promised her sister that she could keep a secret. But…

"Fuko's Onee-chan is going to have a baby too!" the secret exploded out of her before she could stop it.

"WHAAAAAT?" the room exploded with questions.

Fuko had succeeded in changing the mood in the room.

.

 **Thurs** **day** **morning** **,** **M** **arch** **25** **–** **Department of Public Safety**

* * *

"All right, Mr. Okazaki is it?" the gray haired officer asked.

"Yes sir!" Tomoya almost yelled.

"Relax son, this is just a driver exam." the officer tried to calm the young man but he seemed extremely stressed. "Is this your first time taking the exam?"

"No sir," Tomoya admitted, "I failed the exam last Saturday."

"Oh?" the officer asked, "Do you mind telling me what you did wrong?"

"I… I turned the car into oncoming traffic." Tomoya admitted.

"WHAT?" the officer scratched his head and said, "Well, that would do it. Was anyone hurt?"

"No sir," Tomoya said sheepishly.

"Japan, huh?" the officer said after reading the form that was on his clipboard, "They drive on the left side of the road there. How long ago did you come to America?"

"Earlier this month, sir." Tomoya answered.

"All right then, listen up!" the officer looked into Tomoya's eyes and told him, "A car is a dangerous thing. Use it wrong and it becomes a weapon capable of killing people. So, you need to think about where you are right now and what you are doing whenever you are behind the wheel. You got that?"

"Yes sir!" Tomoya was relieved that this was all the officer was going to say about it. The way the previous tester reacted, he worried that he might never get another chance to test again.

"All right then. Are you ready for this?" the officer waited until Tomoya nodded and said, "No more conversation – it's test time. Show me your proof of insurance and…"

.

"I passed!" Tomoya was thrilled. He knew he could have done a better job with the parallel parking part of the test, but everything else went splendidly.

"That is wonderful, Tomoya!" Kotomi cheered, "Tomorrow afternoon you begin the motorcycle training course."

"What?" Tomoya was stunned.

"Do not worry," Kyou told him, "It is not like the Driver's Ed course. It is just three days, and you just have to take a written exam at the testing center."

"But why?" Tomoya asked, "I do not have a motorcycle."

"Math." Kotomi said, "We now have three vehicles and four drivers. Although we have not been in the situation yet, with the two of you starting your classes soon, we may be in a position where I have one car, Mr. Koumura has the other, and you need to get to school. Ergo, you will need to know how to operate the motorcycle."

"But, if that is the case, Kyou can take me on her bike." Tomoya challenged.

"Physics." Kotomi replied, "It is easier and safer for the more massive body to be operating the motorcycle and the less massive body to be the passenger."

Tomoya looked at Kyou to see if she would have a reaction to the idea that Tomoya could just take her bike whenever he needed it.

"Do not dare to call me a _more massive body_!" Kyou glared at Tomoya.

"What if all four of us have to go somewhere at the same time?" Tomoya asked as he turned back to Kotomi. "Should we not just get another car?"

"Geometry." Kotomi answered, "The garage in this house can hold three full sized cars, or two full sized cars and several motorcycles. If we were to acquire another vehicle, it would need to be another motorcycle."

"Why are you objecting, Tomoya?" Kyou asked, "I though you liked to ride on my motorcycle now?"

 _I like to ride with you because I like to hold you close from behind and caress you_ _r body_ _while I am holding onto you…_ was what Tomoya wanted to say. Instead he sighed and said, "If it is only three days, I guess I do not mind it."

"Koumura-san?" Kotomi noticed that the old man was very thoughtful about something and wanted to know if it had anything to do with the discussion about the transportation situation they had been discussing.

"Kotomi-chan?" Koumura too knew how Kotomi sometimes needed this initial protocol to engage someone in a conversation.

"Is something bothering you?" Kotomi asked. "Is it about the transportation issue?"

"No, it has nothing to do with transportation." Koumura put his hands behind his back and started speaking in a mode that he used to use back when he taught in classrooms, "I have been listening to you all since my arrival. Regarding your English language skills, I was quite impressed with your level of proficiency. The longer you are here, and the more you interact with the environment, the better you are getting. But, there is an area where it doesn't seem that you have made any progress."

"Oh?" Kotomi was intrigued.

Kyou was about to challenge any claim that she was not doing her best. But this was Koumura-sensei. She didn't like hearing that there was something that she was making no progress in, but she would listen to what he had to say.

"It is in the use of contractions. This may seem like a small thing, but not using them will set you apart from other…" Koumura lectured. To himself he realized, _This isn't helping me to get rid of the 'sensei' honorific any time soon, but I guess I don't really mind._

.

 **Monday** **night** **,** **Ma** **y 10** **–** **Ichinose residence**

* * *

Tomoyo ran to the front door. Whoever was knocking must be needing her help urgently, despite the relatively late hour. Before opening the door, she looked through the peep-hole and saw a frantic looking Yukine. _Yukine, but no Youhei. Did something happen to Youhei?_ _Did_ _the gangs resume fighting and these two got caught up in it? Is someone threatening Yukine?_ Old habits die hard and she looked for threats at the street and beyond the front porch as she threw open the door.

"Yukine, what's wrong?" Tomoyo pulled the girl into the house and quickly secured the door.

"Eh?" Yukine seemed surprised at Tomoyo's reaction and asked, "What makes you think that something is wrong?"

"You are acting strangely… frantic." Tomoyo started to let herself relax since it looked like she may have misread the situation.

"Oh, I'm not frantic. I'm excited!" Yukine practically cheered but then added thoughtfully, "Well, I guess I could be a little frantic."

"Yukine…" part of Tomoyo wanted to yell at Yukine for her uncharacteristic behavior, but she also wanted to know what had got her classmate so excited.

"Wait," Yukine looked at Tomoyo as if for the first time since the door opened, "why aren't you excited?"

"Because I don't know what you are talking about." Tomoyo pointed out.

"Huh?" Yukine sounded utterly confused by that remark. She pulled out her phone and checked the message, then looked up at her platinum blond friend, "But, Tomoya sent it out as a group message. Why didn't you get it?"

"I…" Tomoyo fidgeted, "I don't have a cell phone any more."

"What?" Yukine was stunned.

"My parents told me that I would have to move home if I wanted them to pay for the cell phone any more. They've also stopped giving me any money for expenses." Tomoyo admitted, "For personal reasons, I just can't do that."

"What are you going to do?" Yukine asked.

"I'm not sure. I've been thinking about getting a part time job… I know it's against school rules, but…" _I just don't have any choice!_ Tomoyo finished the thought in her mind.

"I guess we're in the same boat, huh?" Yukine commented.

"Eh?" Tomoyo hadn't thought about it before, but Yukine's situation was really much worse. Since her brother died, she had no family left at all. _With no family support, I wonder…_ "I know that Okazaki is letting you stay in his house, but how are you getting by?" Suddenly, it occurred to Tomoyo how personal the question was and she immediately backpedaled, "Never-mind, I'm sorry I asked you something so personal."

"No. It's okay." Yukine smiled, "I don't mind talking about it to a friend. It is really thanks to Okazaki-san and Mei-chan."

"Mei-chan?" Tomoyo sounded puzzled, "You mean Youhei's little sister?"

"Yes," Yukine blushed a little since it was hard to admit that she was rescued by a middle-schooler. "Apparently she told her parents that my situation was dire and that if something wasn't done quickly, her Onii-chan would drop out of school and start working to support me, but menial jobs would be all we could ever hope for, so we would always be poor and never be able to give them any… grandchildren."

Tomoyo couldn't even gasp. Her mouth hung open in disbelief at the audacity of Mei's appeal.

"I didn't know anything about this until I came home from school and Youhei's parents were waiting for me." Yukine laughed, "The three of us had a nice conversation until Youhei got home from his school. Then his father took him aside and had a long talk about responsibility and obligation."

"I guess you were pretty upset with Mei after that." Tomoyo offered.

"Not really." Yukine giggled, "Mei-chan loves her brother very much. His parents told me that when he was in middle school, she would chase any girls away from him in fits of jealousy. So, for her to be so accepting of me… to the point that she wants her parents to save me… Well, it does make me feel very special."

"I guess so." Tomoyo looked down and thought of her own situation. In retrospect, it was not as impossible as she had imagined. All she had to do was swallow her pride and move back home. Maybe they wouldn't put pressure on her to give up school and stay home to take care of her invalid brother. Maybe her father would… keep his word. Maybe… maybe… maybe…

"When was the last time you went to the Furukawa bakery in the morning and helped out Akio-san or worked with Sanae-san?" Yukine asked.

"Since Sanae started teaching again, I haven't been back." Tomoyo missed the rich smell of the baking bread, the sweetness of the iced rolls, and the energizing aroma of the freshly made coffee. She had wanted to go back but without Sanae there and the girls off to college, she didn't feel it was right to be there alone with a married man. _But… that's just because of my dad. Not all men are like him. I just have to remind myself that not all men are a lecherous bastard like my dad. Tomoya isn't like that and neither is Akio. I just have to make myself trust…_

"You should go to the bakery tomorrow morning." Yukine could see that Tomoyo was battling with some inner struggle. Having spoken to Tomoyo before about her family, she had an idea what was bothering her friend. "Talk to Akio-san. Despite his occasional silly antics, he is a pretty reliable guy."

"Yeah," Tomoyo had also come to that conclusion, "I'll do that."

"Okay then." Yukine hugged a more hopeful Tomoyo and turned to leave, "Youhei will be home soon. I guess I'll be off."

"Wait," Tomoyo called out as Yukine was putting her shoes back on, "you came over here excited about something. What was that all about?"

"Oh yeah," Yukine said conversationally, "Kotomi's water broke about an hour ago."

"Huh?" Tomoyo was just starting to comprehend what those words meant when Yukine elaborated.

"She's going to have her babies today!" Yukine smiled.

"WHAT?"

.

 **Monday** **afternoon** **,** **Ma** **y 10** **–** **William Marsh University**

* * *

Everyone in the room was startled when the professor came into the room and the desk in the front row was still missing one purple haired Japanese female student. They all knew that she was in the final term of her pregnancy, but she wasn't due for another several weeks and she always scheduled her obstetrician visits so that she would never miss a class.

"All right, settle down." the professor responded to the loud murmuring as he adjusted his glasses, "Mrs. Ichinose told me that it was okay to make this announcement. She will not be joining us today since her water broke this morning. In my opinion, she will probably not be back until the Fall semester."

"Oh how sad." a classmate said in a voice that didn't sound sad at all, "After all her hard work, she will miss the final exams and have to take the course over again."

"Not to worry," the professor called out over the sounds of some students agreeing and others berating the classmates comment, "the young lady took her final exams almost a month ago."

"WHAT?" the rest of the class gaped.

"How did she do?" someone asked before they realized the impropriety of the question.

"I can't discuss that, of course." the professor said as he rested his hand on a binder that looked like it held about three hundred pages within. "What I can tell you is that she wrote a one-hundred and fifty page thesis for every question she got wrong and convinced me to throw out two of the questions from the exam."

"Oh?" the classmate asked hopefully, "so, we can thank her for getting rid of two of the exam questions?"

"Not quite," the professor smiled, "she was also instrumental in helping me come up with two replacement questions which, I assure you, are completely valid."

There was a collective gasp in the room as they realized that two of the questions on their final exam would be coming from the frighteningly powerful mind of Okazaki Kotomi. Every student knew what this could do to their grades. Several were about to object that a test question from another student could be unethical, when the professor spoke up.

"To be honest, there are very few of you that could answer either of these questions." the professor told them candidly, "So, I have decided to designate her contributions as bonus questions. I have never given bonus questions on a course final before so this will be a first. Now, if there are no other concerns, I shall begin today's lecture by addressing…"

There had been some rivalry at the beginning of the semester for the top academic position. This was, after all, a school for geniuses. The students that came here were generally the best students from top tier high schools and preparatory academies, so they were used to being at the top of all the lists. To some of them, it was unnerving when their name was anywhere but the top position in all subjects. Hatred and fighting was rare, but there was always a sense of intense rivalry between Marsh students.

And then there was Kotomi. Other student's could not believe her when she not only didn't know what her ranking was, but didn't seem to care. At the beginning of the semester, her classmates thought it was odd when she was always missing from the group study sessions. It wasn't until after mid-term exams when one of them overheard an upperclassman and a graduate student talking about the impressive "Kotomi-chan", that they found out how intensely brilliant she was. At the same time that she had captured the top spot in all of her classes except English and American History, she was also involved in a huge project. According to the upperclassmen, Kotomi had been working with graduate students and the professors to completely revolutionize the Strange Particle Physics Lab.

This was on the minds of her classmates when their professor stung them with the barb that he doubted they would be able to answer either of her test questions. However, even the most competitive of her classmates put rivalry aside and hoped for the best in her delivery, and for the health of her children.

.

 **Monday** **afternoon** **,** **Ma** **y 10** **–** **Houston residence**

* * *

Kotomi was sleeping peacefully in her own bed. It had not been an exceptionally long labor, but it had taken every bit of stamina that Kotomi could muster before it was over. Kyou and Tomoya had been beside her every step of the way. They were pretty tired as well, but only Kotomi had gone through complete physical exhaustion. That left Tomoya and Kyou to wonder at the new life that they had just helped to bring into this world. Sitting side by side in rocking chairs, each of them held one of the newborn babies in their arms as they gently rocked back and forth.

"They're so… so small." Tomoya couldn't get over how tiny the babies were, "They were born early… are they too small?"

"Stop worrying! Their birth-weight was in the normal range." Kyou grinned at the new father worry she was seeing in Tomoya, "Multiple births often come a little early. It's no big deal."

"Oh!" Tomoya whispered a gasp, "I think little Shuichi is going to sleep!"

"You've got Shuji." Kyou said wryly, "I have Shuichi over here."

"Huh?" Tomoya was genuinely confused. Sure, they weren't identical twins, but at this age it wasn't easy to tell the difference.

"Oh Tomoya," Kyou said disparagingly, "You can't tell your own sons apart?"

"But…" Tomoya's mind was rattled. Childbirth had taken more of a mental toll on him than it had for either Kotomi or Kyou. To some degree, he was still in a state of shock from the morning's blessed event. Concern and self-doubt exploded when he realized that he couldn't tell his son's from each other. _Am I destined to be a terrible father? Will I fail at this? Do I even deserve to be their father?_

"Ku ku ku!" Kyou laughed at Tomoya's expression, "Don't sweat it Tomoya. I can't tell them apart either… unless I can see their eyes."

Like their mother and father, the first born son Shuichi had purple eyes and the younger son Shuji had blue eyes. Of course, Kyou compared the two boys' eye color to her own purple eyes and her twin sister, Ryou's blue eyes.

"But… their eyes have been closed since we picked them up." Tomoya asked, "How did you know that you have Shuichi?"

"Booties." Kyou winked at Tomoya, "I put their socks on them earlier. Shuichi is wearing the green booties and Shuji is wearing the blue ones."

 _Dammit Kyou!_ Tomoya wanted to scream at her, but the look of satisfaction that she had been able to put one over on him was priceless. _It was just a little joke after all. And, to see her like this… with a baby in her arms and that smile on her face, she looks happier now than I have ever seen her. All right, Kyou… you win this time, but prepare yourself. The next time you give me a ride on your bike – it's on._


	29. Chapter 29 - Embrace This Love

**Satur** **day** **morning** **,** **M** **a** **y** **15** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

Kyou gently rocked back and forth while she lovingly held a sleeping Shuji in her arms. In the glider next to her, Kotomi was breastfeeding the older son, Shuichi. He was looking up into her face while his little hand clutched at one of her fingers. In Kyou's mind, it was the perfect image of motherhood.

"Oh Kotomi, I am so jealous of you right now." Kyou said as she watched the idyllic scene of mother and child bonding in such an intimate way.

"Huh?" Kotomi blinked as she looked up from the child in her arms, "Do you prefer Shuichi over Shuji?"

"What? No!" Kyou balked, "I love both of the boys. Why would you think such a thing?"

"Shuichi has purple eyes like yours and you just said you were jealous." Kotomi laid out the grounds for her supposition.

"I was referring to you being able to breastfeed them." Kyou put a hand over her face. Sometimes, the way Kotomi could misunderstand a comment or situation was amazing.

"That is good to know." Kotomi was pleased that her hypothesis had been proven wrong. Although she had been raised as an only child, she had read of the sometimes disastrous results of one child being favored over the others, and she didn't want that to happen to her children.

"Besides," Kyou said reassuringly as she looked back down at the child she held, "Shuji has blue eyes like my sister, and you know how much I love my dear little sister."

"I do," Kotomi agreed, then asked Kyou to confirm exactly what it was that she was jealous about, "So, being able to breastfeed the boys… that is what you were talking about?"

"Yes." Kyou blushed a little at the way Kotomi could just effortlessly talk about a subject that felt like it should be more embarrassing.

"Why?" Kotomi asked.

"Because…" Kyou quickly looked around to make sure that they were the only ones in the room while she discussed something so blush-worthy, "there's really nothing more intimate between a mother and child than breastfeeding. Anyone can wash a baby or change a diaper, but there is just something so very special about… that."

"I see," Kotomi looked back down and saw that Shuichi was getting sleepy and no longer latching on the way he had been a few minutes ago. Pulling him away for a moment, she put the towel against her breast to catch the milk that would dribble out for the next minute or so, while she rocked him to sleep. She asked Kyou, "It can be messy and inconvenient, but I have to agree with all that I have read that it does seem to create a bond and sense of intimacy with the child. So, you would still choose to enjoy this bonding and intimacy even if it meant also having the inconvenience?"

"Of course I would," Kyou replied with a tinge of the jealousy in her voice again, "but I can't – so don't tease me about it. Maybe… maybe someday."

Kotomi grinned as Kyou grew silent. She was now certain of Kyou's feelings and it made her happy. _Kyou, my dear friend. 'Someday' may come sooner than you think._

.

 **Tues** **day** **evening** **,** **M** **a** **y** **18** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

"AHHH!" Kyou cried out from the bathroom. Tomoya came running to see what was wrong and Kotomi wasn't far behind but was moving slowly since she was carrying Shuji.

"Kyou, what's wrong? Did you fall?" Tomoya cried out as he entered the room.

"Tomoya!" Kyou protectively covered her breasts with her hands, "What are you doing in here?"

"You screamed," Tomoya said defensively, "Of course I came! Now tell me what's wrong."

"I…" Kyou blushed furiously. She wanted to scream at Tomoya to get out but she was also glad that he came running when she screamed. Still it was impossible to talk about something so… so… impossible!

"Kyou has started lactating." Kotomi announced. She had noticed that Kyou's breasts had grown a full cup size in the last month, but now she could see the almost clear fluid running down Kyou's arms as she tried to hide what she couldn't understand.

"WHAT!" both Tomoya and Kyou gaped. They both immediately regretted their volume when the sudden loud voices made Shuji start crying.

"You… you say that as if you expected it." Kyou said with disbelief.

"I didn't think it would start for another week. Since I gave birth a little prematurely, I had to accelerate your protocol." Kotomi explained.

"Huh?" Tomoya was confused along with Kyou, "I'm not a doctor or anything, but I'm pretty sure this isn't something you can catch from someone else like a cold or flu. Right?"

"Yeah," Kyou agreed, "for me to suddenly start lactating like this isn't… natural."

"No, it's not natural. It is artificial." Kotomi further explained, "By using a protocol of drospirenone, ethinyl estradiol, and domperidone – your breasts have been triggered to begin lactating so that you can enjoy the bonding and intimacy of breastfeeding the children."

"What?" Kyou was barely able to keep her voice down as various emotions fought for dominance of her soul. "You drugged me?"

"Yes." Kotomi answered with a smile. She did not see the anger or rage building behind the eyes of her friend or she would have fled the room instead of saying, "This is my gift to you. I want you to feel every bit of love that a mother feels with her child." Kotomi stepped up to her troubled friend and offered Shuji to her as she said, "They will grow up calling you mama or Okāsan just as they call me. I want them to love you like a mother and I want you to think of them as your own. Love them like a mother loves her child. Nothing should stand in the way of your love for them or their love for you. This is what I want for you, Kyou."

"But… why?" Kyou no longer felt the rage that she had at first. But there was still confusion… and there was still anger. Nevertheless, she took Shuji into her arms as she had so many times before. But this time would be different. This time the baby boy found drops of nutritious milk next to his lips and gave suck to get more. Feeling the baby mouth close over her sensitive part, she cried out, "AH!"

"Because I love you, Kyou." Kotomi smiled as she watched Shuji take Kyou's finger the way he always held onto hers when he was drinking hungrily. "All the data suggested that you would want this. So I arranged it for you as a surprise present. I hope you like it."

"I…" Kyou was speechless. There were still a dozen different conflicting emotions within her, but they were now greatly suppressed under the feeling created by the small child feeding from her breast. Completeness, belonging, love, trust… these feelings were flowing into her and filling her up. The same feeling she perceived Kotomi felt… she was feeling it now and there was truly nothing to compare it to. Her eyes were locked on Shuji's blue eyes and it was simply impossible for her to look away. His eyes seemed to penetrate all of her armor and find her innermost being where the spirit of the child danced with her very soul. Kyou didn't realize when she had started, but before she knew it, she was singing an old Japanese nursery rhyme while tears of joy spilled out of her eyes and ran down her face.

"Kyou," Tomoya said as he put a robe over the shoulders of the lavender haired girl, "I'll explain to Kotomi what she did wrong and we'll see what we can do to stop the…"

Kyou didn't verbally interrupt him, but her hand swept out and seized the tail of his shirt. Her head shook in a definite 'no' gesture. Through it all, she never looked up at Tomoya or Kotomi. Her eyes stayed on the feeding child in her arms and her song never faltered, though it did warble a bit from the crying.

"Are you sure?" Tomoya moved his hand to where she had his shirt and gave her hand a squeeze.

Kyou nodded a 'yes' as she moved her fingers into his hand and squeezed him back.

"All right," Tomoya said as he held her hand, "but I'm still going to have a talk with her and let her know what she did wrong."

Kyou squeezed his hand and let go so she could better hold the feeding child.

"But Tomoya," Kotomi said as she followed her husband out of the room, "I didn't do anything wrong. I had to modify the regular protocol since since we didn't have enough time, but the hormonal additives to her diet were carefully monitored at all times. Now that she has begun lactating, I can drop the drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol from her diet and begin her on Blessed Thistle herb, Fenugreek seed, and oatmeal to enhance her milk production…"

Kyou could hear Kotomi's very scientific and very impersonal defense as they left the room. _Good luck getting her to see it your way, Tomoya. I always seem to lose those arguments with her._

.

 **Sun** **day** **night** **,** **M** **a** **y** **2** **1** **–** **Okazaki** **residence**

* * *

The news reports said that Cyclone Nida was passing to the east of Japan, which was good news. There would be no damage from storm surge or extremely high winds, but there was plenty of rain. All across the East coast and far up into the mountainous highlands of the country, the storm was dropping torrential rain. Many low lying areas were already reporting flooding conditions and the storm was not yet at it's peak for the area.

In the rebuilt Okazaki house, Youhei, Yukine, and Fuko sat at the small table in the living room. Youhei was on the couch. Yukine sat with her feet under her in an adjoining chair. Fuko sat on the floor and leaned on the short table as she gazed into the flickering patterns of the lantern's little flame. The power had gone out several hours ago, but they had been prepared with oil lamps and flashlights. Updates on the weather and news reports of power outages, wide spread flooding, and numerous mudslides were coming to them on the small battery powered radio – until Yukine reached over and turned it off.

"Yu-chan?" Youhei wondered if the news of one disaster after another was getting to be too much for his fiancé.

"The problem with listening to the news during a storm," Yukine said as she got up from her chair and sat down on the couch next to Youhei, "is that all they talk about is how bad everything is. They never tell you how nice it is to lean on your boyfriend and have him hold you while you listen to the rain pounding away on the rooftop." Yukine gave her sentence additional punctuation by leaning over and kissing Youhei on his neck.

"Well, that probably isn't the fault of the news," Youhei pointed out as he put an arm around Yukine and pulled her closer, "I guess not too many guys would want someone with a microphone and a camera in the room when they are trying to cuddle." Youhei knew what Yukine liked and kissed his way up her neck until he could gently nibble on her ear.

"I suppose not," Yukine giggled as she felt Youhei's hand caress her back – from her neck down to her hips, "but it would make for an interesting news bulletin." With her serene smile still on her lips, she leaned up to her boyfriend for a kiss.

Youhei was about to fulfill his girlfriend's wish, when the whole room lit up so brightly that the colors of things were completely washed out.

"Eep!" Fuko squeaked.

"Here Fuko!" Youhei called out to the terrified girl on the floor. He raised his right arm for her to snuggle in on the other side from Yukine. Both he and Yukine knew that it wasn't actually the lightning that scared her. It was the thunder that was soon to follow. They also knew that such an ominous burst of lightning would be followed soon and loudly by the accompanying thunderclap.

Fuko seemed to hesitate for only a moment then lunged for the couch. Her face was buried in Youhei's chest and she was covered by his arm when the thunder seemed to explode all around the small house. Even though she felt safe with Youhei holding her, she screamed while holding her hands over her ears – until the worst of the rumbles subsided.

"Not quite three seconds," Yukine announced.

"Less than a kilometer away." Youhei said after doing the math. "I hope the others are okay."

"I'm sure they are." Yukine said with confidence, "The Ichinose house is on higher ground and the Furukawa Bakery has never had a problem with flooding."

"And it looks like we're safe here." Youhei said as he looked up at the ceiling where the gaping hole used to be, "Your friends did a good job with the roof. They should start up a business."

"I'll mention it to them," Yukine giggled, "but they probably won't like the idea of doing something so…" Yukine paused to try and think of the right word to use.

"Legitimate?" Youhei offered.

"Normal." Yukine corrected with a wry glance. "They like to think that they're doing things on the edge… living a life of risk and danger.

"Yeah…" Youhei was thinking about what Yukine said as he comforted the shivering Fuko on his right. What she had said about her late brother's friends had been true about him as well. The desire to do something more than _normal_. Something risky and exciting… but at the same time he wanted to come home to Yukine… to a family. In his case, the way to make all those things happen had opened like a door right in front of him. He would become a police officer to get that feeling of doing something more than normal. However, he was under no delusion that the life of a cop would be constant excitement. He was old enough to understand that the real job of being a police officer would be hours upon hours of boredom, to be punctuated by terrifying excitement. But that would be okay too. No amount of boredom or terror would be insurmountable if Yukine was waiting for him at the end of the day.

"Fuko doesn't like the thunder." Fuko whimpered as another series of booms rolled over the house.

"It's okay, Fuko." Youhei said as he held her tighter into his chest, "Soon it will all be a memory."

"Fuko doesn't want to remember the thunder!" she said in a trembling voice.

"I want you to remember." Youhei said firmly.

"Huh?" Fuko's head popped up and she could see that Youhei wasn't teasing her. He was being very serious. "Is Youhei-kun being mean to Fuko?"

"No, Fuko." Youhei told her, "I want you to remember how scared you are and how you are holding onto me – just as I am going to remember how I held you tight every time the thunder rolled in. I want you to remember how my shirt felt in your fingers and how I smelled – just like I will remember that your hair was still a little damp from the bath you took with Yukine and how it smells like coconuts and an ocean breeze.

"Youhei-kun…" Fuko whispered as she looked into his blue eyes.

"And some day, when your body wakes up from the coma, if I forget all about you – I want you to hunt me down and tell me everything until I believe you." Youhei said, "And if you forget all about us, we will come to you and keep telling you about all the things we did together until you believe we are your friends."

"What… what if we both forget?" Fuko asked emotionally. Anxiety and happiness battled for her soul just then. Her greatest fear of forgetting all her friends was usually treated like a taboo subject around her, but it was brought up by Youhei this time, and the things he said made her so very happy.

"Then it may take a little longer, but it will still happen." Yukine explained, "I have been keeping diaries and I write about you in all of them. Just like the time that Youhei left the note on his wall to _remember Fuko_ , I left myself lots of notes and instructions on how to find you and hopefully… how to remember everything."

"Oooooh!" Fuko wailed as she hugged both Youhei and Yukine, "You are the best friends ever! Fuko will do her best to remember you! Fuko promises!"

"Let's pinky promise." Yukine suggested and offered her hand. As two other hands came up and three pinky fingers interlocked, Yukine said, "We promise to remember all our friends!"

"Yes!" Fuko said just as a loud thunderclap rolled over the house. Her head was instantly buried in Youhei's chest again but, despite her fear, her trembling hand was still raised and her pinky finger was still locked with the pinky fingers of her dearest friends.

.

 **Sun** **day** **night** **,** **M** **a** **y** **2** **1** **–** **Ichinose** **residence**

* * *

Tomoyo stood at the windows of the second floor bedroom that used to be Kotomi's room when she was a little girl. The room was not occupied by anyone at the moment, but it had a good view of the back yard and that was what Tomoyo needed at the moment.

She had been a little over an hour into her workout in the dojo when the tremendous crash of thunder let her know that the storm had arrived. Even though she was not even halfway finished with her workout, she took her responsibilities seriously and immediately set out to insure that the house and property were weathering the storm as they should. Still wearing the body tights and with her hair up for her workout, she set about prowling through the big empty house.

A quick glance out the front and back windows revealed that there was considerable rain, but none of the high winds that were usually associated with tropical cyclones. The last weather forecast she had listened to had suggested that the eye of the storm, and all the strong winds, would be out in the Pacific Ocean. Still, the long spiral arms of the storm would lash the Japanese mainland with torrential rain and there had been warnings about the consequences that would follow all that water. Tomoyo knew that the Ichinose house was far enough from the mountains that there was no concern for mudslides, but flooding was another matter. A stream-bed ran just behind the house, on the other side of the tall hedges that bordered the back yard. The concern about that creek bed was what had brought her to Kotomi's old bedroom.

From the bedroom window, Tomoyo could see over the hedge to the far side of the creek bed and what she saw worried her. The water was all the way up to the embankments and was almost up to the underside of the bridge that crossed over the normally small creek. Trying to remember what that creek bed normally looked like, she recalled that it was paved about half way up to prevent normal flood waters from eroding the surrounding land. But this wasn't a normal flood and if the water was higher than the protected area, there was the possibility that…

Even as she was going over the possibility in her mind, she saw it begin to happen. Like dominoes falling, the last three sections of the hedge closest to the bridge simply fell backwards and disappeared into the rushing water. Well, they didn't immediately disappear… she could see them being thrashed and beaten against the bridge structure before finally being pulled under the dark water by the strong current. While she was wondering whose responsibility it was to repair the embankment, her cell phone rang. Looking at the screen to see who was calling, she smiled.

"Hello Tomoya." she answered.

"Tomoyo!" he sounded happy to reach her. "I've been trying to call you for a while."

"Oh?" Tomoyo decided, "It's probably the storm. Cell phone service is spotty at best."

"That's what I was calling you about," Tomoya said, "I know Kotomi's house is on higher ground, but we were worried about you."

"You were worried about her!" Kyou's accusing voice lashed out.

"Kyou-chan was especially concerned about you." Tomoya smirked, "She was so worried, she hardly has any fingernails left."

"I'll just bet she was." Tomoyo smiled at the familiar teasing antics of her friends.

"Tomoya…" Kyou growled, "I'm going to kill you!"

"Kyou, can you hear me?" Tomoyo asked since she wasn't sure if Tomoya had put her on speaker-phone.

"Y… yes." Kyou was slightly less murderous sounding than she had been before.

"I just wanted you to know," Tomoyo said, "I miss you too."

It was only a voice call so Tomoyo couldn't see the full face blush she had caused the lavender haired girl. Kyou could only stare back at the phone. He brain couldn't seem to line up any words at all.

"Even though I had a family, we weren't close and I got used to being a loner." Tomoyo said, "Until I met you and Kotomi, and Tomoya… I was okay with… being alone. I know that you still harbor some twisted idea that I am your rival, but I only want to be your friend. Do you think you could ever do that? Will you ever let me be your friend?"

"I…" Tomoyo heard just that much of Kyou's response before the line went dead. The icon on the phone told her that there was no signal now. _So, infrastructure changes for the future: the river and stream_ _erosion_ _embankments need to be_ _higher, and cell coverage needs to be more robust._

Tomoyo watched as the rushing water rose higher and higher. There was no longer any space between the rushing water and the bottom of the bridge. The good news was that the rains finally calmed down and the water stopped rising in the stream bed any further. But it would be a while before the water level would finally begin to recede. With a sigh, she knew it was time to leave the window and head for bed. It was late and, even though the schools in the area had already canceled classes for the next day, she would be busy with cleaning up, if nothing else.

Just as she was turning away from the window, she saw a bit of unusual movement from the corner of her eye. Far down below, where the water was rushing under the bridge, was what looked like a crumpled up mass of chain-link fencing. She hadn't noticed it before a lightning flash illuminated the scene, but it appeared that a leg and a foot was trapped in the fencing material. Tomoyo was staring into the darkness, trying to force her eyes to see into the abyss so she could know if she had seen what she thought she saw, when another flash of lightning illuminated the dire predicament down below.

"Nagisa!" Tomoyo cried out in horror as she ran for the stairway. There was definitely a girl caught up in that steel mesh and she looked a lot like Nagisa in the instant of the lightning flash. Even as she ran for the backyard and out of the house, Tomoyo was considering all the possible dangers. _The strong current could pull her and the steel fencing under the bridge before I get there. There could be a lightning strike on the fencing that would kill both of us instantly. She could already be dead from drowning or hypothermia. Nagisa, hold on just a little longer. I'm almost there!_

The figure in the mesh seemed to be moving at first, but when Tomoyo got closer, she could tell that it was just the rushing water thrashing the body about. It was extremely dark out here. She could look back and see the lights of the Ichinose house, but there were no other lights on in the neighborhood. _That's weird, does Kotomi's house have it's own generator?_

"Nagisa!," Tomoyo screamed as she clawed at the crumpled wire fencing to get it away from the girl's body, "Nagisa, can you hear me? It's Tomoyo! I'm trying to help you! Can you hear me?"

The body continued to move, but it was only the involuntary movements caused by the crumpled fence being pulled this way and that by the rushing water. Even in the darkness, Tomoyo could see the body was covered in mud and the clothing was ripped and torn. It would be impossible to determine if Nagisa was breathing out here and Tomoyo knew she didn't have the skill to feel a pulse in these conditions. The only person she could think of that would be able to do that would be…

"Ryou!" Tomoyo screamed, "Nagisa, where is Ryou? Was she with you?" Tomoyo searched through the remaining fence material and looked along the banks of the stream but she didn't see another body anywhere. _But they're always together, and they should be… Waitaminit!_ Tomoyo didn't stop trying to free the body from the steel fencing but she was less panicked now as a realization hit her. _Nagisa and Ryou are together at college a long way from here. So… this isn't Nagisa!_ The happiness of the realization that this wasn't Nagisa in such distress turned to horror when she saw what the strong water current was doing with the fence. The furthest part of the fence was being pulled inexorably under the bridge. Soon, the slack would be gone and this girl would disappear under the dark water as well.

"NO!" Tomoyo screamed and began savagely ripping the clothes off the girl's body. It was now a race against time. She knew that if she couldn't free the girl from the fence in time, there would be no way to save her. No matter how good her fighting skills were, she would not be strong enough to hold back the powerful current of these flood waters. If she tried, she would simply be pulled under the unforgiving dark water as well. Fortunately, she was much stronger than the tattered clothing and was able to pull the girl out of the rushing water a full minute before the last of the fencing was finally pulled under the bridge. Now, covered in mud herself, she heaved the girl's now naked body up over her shoulder and walked back toward the house.

Working in the rushing water and mud to pull the girl free had been exhausting work. Tomoyo's legs were shaky as she crossed the yard back toward the house, and they were about to give out on her completely when she made the last few steps to the trellis covered back patio. Lowering the body gently to the hardwood porch, Tomoyo then knelt down next to the unmoving naked girl. Cool raindrops still came down through the overhead trellis. Even though it was a roof-like structure, the immature vines that were growing there gave the porch very little protection. It didn't matter though; rain or not, Tomoyo would need to rest for a moment before going any further. Crawling over to the girl's nude body, she put her ear to the girl's chest and listened. It took a moment, but she could hear a heartbeat. Listening at the mouth, she could hear breathing too. Satisfied that the girl was still alive and not in any imminent peril, Tomoyo allowed herself to collapse on the wooden deck and breathe in great gasps of needed air.

After resting for a bit, Tomoyo was ready to pick the girl up again and make it into the house. Noticing that the rain had washed the mud away from the girl's body, she removed her own muddy clothes and carried the listless girl into the Ichinose house.

.

"Ah!" the girl cried out and an arm swung up at the person hovering over her.

"Be still!" Tomoyo said curtly as she easily caught the arm and pushed it back down to the plastic covered mattress.

"Sakagami-san?" the surprised girl asked, "What's going on? Why am I naked? What are you doing to me?"

"So, you know who I am?" Tomoyo said as she went back to applying the red iodine liquid to another scratch line on the girl's body.

"Yes, we go to the same school. We were in the performance club for a while last year." the girl swallowed as she looked at all the red marks all over her arms, chest, and now where Tomoyo was working… on her legs. "I'm Sugisaka…"

"Ah, I remember you." Tomoyo paused the application of the iodine to look into the girl's red eyes, "Your hair is longer now. Are you still in the performance club?"

"Ah, yes. But more importantly," the conversation, though sounding pleasant, did not make Sugisaka feel any better about being naked and letting Tomoyo paint little red marks all over her body, "… can you tell me what's going on?"

"Sure," Tomoyo went back to her task with the iodine, "I found you wrapped up in a chain link fence in the flood water behind the house. You had a heartbeat and were breathing but you didn't wake up until just now. From the knot on the back of your head, I'm guessing you were knocked unconscious. I tried calling an ambulance but all the lines are down or tied up due to the storm. So I found a first-aid guide and I've been treating you for the last two hours."

"Two hours!" Sugisaka gasped.

"Yes," Tomoyo ran through what had been done so far, "I washed you up. You have a lot of scrapes and bruises all over your body, but I didn't find any deep cuts or broken bones."

"Oh no!" Sugisaka said in disbelief, "I don't remember any of this!"

"What is the last thing you remember?" Tomoyo asked.

"Harada-chan and I were at Nishina-chan's house to go over the performance we want to do for the Star Festival."

"Do you remember leaving her house, or who might have left with you?" Tomoyo tried to keep the question casual, but if she had been with someone when she had been swept away, it was possible that someone else could have been swept away with her.

"Um… no?" Sugisaka was concerned that she couldn't remember much.

"Don't worry about it," Tomoyo wanted to keep the girl calm, "you might not be able to remember because of the concussion. I'm sure it will come to you later."

"Oh… okay." Sugisaka admired how confident Tomoyo seemed and was glad that she had been rescued by someone so capable. Still, it felt weird lying there naked on the bed while another person carefully inspected her body and painted half of Sugisaka's exposed skin with red iodine.

"All right, that's enough for now. I want you to try not to move and let this dry. When I come back, I'll have you roll over so I can do the other side." Tomoyo instructed.

"Eh?" Sugisaka was a little shocked at the rather cool way a fellow student was treating her. Then again, Tomoyo did used to be the student council president. _I guess she's just used to being obeyed._

Tomoyo stepped out of the room and checked her cell phone. There was still no service. She had the Performance Club directory from last year and would be able to call both Harada and Nishina to make sure they were safe… if she could make a call. _Yes, more robust cell coverage is something this town needs badly._

.

 **Sun** **day** **morning** **,** **M** **a** **y** **2** **1** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

Even though it was almost midnight in Japan, it was still Sunday morning back in Texas. Koumura was working with the laundry and Kotomi was dressing the twins while Kyou and Tomoya had gone to the Kitchen to prepare breakfast. Tomoya had been unable to reach the Furukawa's or Sunohara, but they had let the brief conversation with Tomoyo interrupt their food preparation.

"I…" Kyou wasn't able to say anything more. The line had gone dead while she was still figuring out her feelings. She knew that it was pointless to revert to this kind of childish behavior whenever Tomoya talked to Tomoyo, but try as she might – there was just something about that girl that always seemed to trip her up. Kyou handed the phone back to Tomoya and told him, "The line dropped. It must have been the storm."

"Kyou," Tomoya called out to her as he took his phone back, "After the storm is over… tomorrow morning, maybe. You will call her and answer her question, will you not?"

"Baka!" Kyou cried while storming off to the kitchen to finish making breakfast, "It was not a confession, dammit!" Kyou wanted nothing more than to stomp off her anger but she glanced up and saw Kotomi looking at them both with a disparaging expression.

"This is all wrong," Kotomi shook her head.

 _Oh no!_ _N_ _ow I have to hear it from Kotomi that I should be a nicer person toward Tomoyo? I don't know how much more of this I can take!_ Kyou wanted to scream.

"You will call her and answer her question, will you not." Kotomi repeated her husband's words as she looked at Tomoya. Turning to her lavender haired friend, she repeated Kyou's words, "It was not a confession, dammit." Then she lectured both of them, "You deliberately avoided the contractions. Please try it again, but make use of the contractions this time."

"Um..." Tomoya had to think for a moment before his converted sentence was ready, "You'll call her and answer her question, you won't?"

"Not quite," Kotomi reminded him, "The interrogative element doesn't pivot."

"Oh yeah." Tomoya said after he figured out what Kotomi was telling him, "You'll call her and answer her question, won't you?"

"Very good, Tomoya-kun!" Kotomi clapped her hands and bounced on her toes at his growing linguistic skill, "Now it's your turn, Kyou-chan."

"Let's see, I think my comment started with…" Kyou took a deep breath and shouted, "BAKA!" Although the shout had felt good, she suddenly remembered that there were two infants in the house when she saw Kotomi's and Tomoya's startled expressions.

All three of them held their breath for several seconds to see if they would hear the sound of crying infants. The moment passed and there was a collective sigh of relief. Kyou now looked sheepish rather than angry.

Brief though it was, the few seconds when Kyou worried that she had scared the children with her outburst – had given her time to reflect. She knew that shouting in the house like that, especially when there were sleeping infants, was inexcusable. _It isn't unreasonable, what Tomoya is asking of me. It isn't even something he wants me to do for him or for… her. I know he's trying to help me but DAMMIT! I was the Class-Rep and he was the delinquent. I'm the one that's supposed to be helping him to be a better person. So why does it always seem like he is the one pushing me to grow up! I can't even ask Kotomi about it because I already know what she'll say._ _She'll just tell me that h_ _e's always trying to help me because he loves me. They…_ _they_ _both love me… and I really Really REALLY don't deserve it!_ After taking another deep breath, Kyou was able to unclench her fists and look up at her expectant friends.

"I'm sorry for that." Kyou told them in a much more controlled, and quieter voice, "It wasn't a confession… but I'll call her and we'll talk. I've known that I can't keep being like this. We're going to be good friends soon, I promise." Kyou's pride flared just a bit. She had pumped her response full of as many contractions as she could think of. Now she was waiting to be praised by Kotomi.

"Oh, Kyou-chan… that was wonderful!" Kotomi couldn't just bounce on her toes like she had with Tomoya. She rushed forward and hugged her lavender haired friend, "I'm so glad that you and Tomoyo-chan will be good friends now!"

"Huh?" Kyou's prideful smile seemed to fall on one side.

Tomoya had to turn away from the girls. He tried not to laugh out loud or so vigorously that Kyou might be able to see his shoulders shaking… but it was difficult.

.

 **Tuesday** **afternoon** **,** **August** **17** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

Four more tropical storms hit Japan over the next three months, and a fifth was closing in on the island country even now. Two of them struck within days of each other at the end of July and the first days of August. Although they had all caused some damage across much of their home country, the places that were most on their minds had weathered the storms quite well. Even now, as Tomoya brought the mail in, the television in the living room was relaying news about Typhoon Megi as it began it's assault on Japan's southern prefectures.

Since the twins had been born, Kyou and Tomoya had taken a few of their freshmen courses in the abbreviated summer semester, while Kotomi continued to take classes and work on her physics research over the hot Texas summer. Despite the help that he was getting from both Kyou and Kotomi, Tomoya had struggled with the classes he was taking. After reviewing his work, Kotomi decided that Tomoya was trying to do too many things and was exhausting himself. The next day, Koumura arranged for additional help with the house and taking care of the babies so that all three of the college students could concentrate on their studies more.

"Hey," Tomoya called out to everyone sitting around the living room, "There is… there's a lot of mail today."

Kyou looked up and was about to tell him to just throw away all the junk mail and concentrate on his fall semester prep activities. She was concerned about his first real semester since he had struggled with the summer courses they had taken together. But her thoughts were reshuffled when she noticed that many of the envelopes had both English and Japanese writing on them.

"Hey, that one is for me!" Kyou said with excitement when she recognized her sister's handwriting.

"Several of these are for you." Tomoya said as he handed her a stack of five letters.

"Eh?" Kyou sounded surprised and thrilled, "These are all for me?"

"Those are the ones that are just for you." Tomoya corrected, "Some of them are addressed to all three of us."

Kyou couldn't wait to open the letter from her sister first. She had talked with her on the phone just a few days before, but there was just something so incredibly special about a real letter on real paper that phone calls, text messages, and emails just couldn't beat.

 _Onee-chan,_

 _Youhei-kun, Yukine-chan, and Tomoyo-chan organized a letter writing campaign for Tomoya and Kotomi's anniversary, but I wanted to send a letter to you as well. I don't think they will be insulted by me intruding on their special day, but please convey my apologies if they do._

 _Nagisa and I are on summer break now and back at the Furukawa's house. Our first semester went well and we are looking forward to being at the same school together for at least three more years. We had four classes together and that made us very happy, although we know we will have fewer classes with each other in the future since we are pursuing different courses of study._

 _Kotomi-chan's prediction that Nagisa's health should stay good has been accurate so far and we are very hopeful. Akio-san has warned us that she has always been more likely to have the strange health issues in the cold months, so I will stay vigilant as we finish out this school year._

 _In some respects, Nagisa frightens me. Or rather, I am frightened by how strong my own feelings for her are. I knew that I had feelings for her from the first time we met on the rooftop of the school when Tomoya-kun tricked me into thinking that she was there to confess to me. I had thought that it would be a passing infatuation and that it would eventually stabilize into a long lasting friendship. But it has been quite the opposite. I feel like I love her more and more every day. I worry and can't stop thinking about her when she isn't with me. When she is with me, I want to touch her. I want to hold her hand or touch her hair or her face. I find that I can't study well if she isn't in the same room with me and I can't get any good sleep if we're not… together. This hasn't been a problem for me too much since Nagisa loves me too and also prefers to be near me._

 _But, this makes me worry about you. We are twins and although some of our personality traits are very different, there is much that is the same. Onee-chan, I am concerned that if you feel love the way I do, your feelings for Tomoya must be tearing you apart. I don't know what I would do if I could only watch while someone else got to hold Nagisa's hand, or if I slept alone while she slept with someone else in another room. I think it would destroy me. You have always been stronger than me so I want to believe that you have found some way to resolve your feelings. I didn't want to open any painful wounds, but as your little sister, I love you and I don't want you to be hurting – no matter how strong you are._

 _We are all looking forward to this winter when we will all get together again. I admit that I am looking forward to seeing the babies. I'm sure you are helping out there tremendously. I am so jealous that you are there and get to see them all the time. Nagisa and I never though much about children until we saw the pictures of little Shuichi and Shuji, that you and Tomoya sent us. It made us think though. With the laws the way they are here, Nagisa and I know that we can't get married, but we would be allowed to adopt a child. We have discussed it and we may do that someday. So, you still have a chance to be an Obasan!_

 _With Love,  
Ryou_

Despite her sister trying to soften the blow, it did hurt. No matter how much Kotomi would insist that she was part of _the family_ or how integral she convinced herself she was, there was a small part of her that would always remind her that there was, and always would be a distance between her and _them_. However, it did seem that the remaining distance was smaller than it had been. In fact, it seemed to be closing a little more each day.

 _Oh Ryou, if only I had the courage to tell you the truth. Tomoya and I sit together in our college classes. Hand-in-hand, we walk around the campus, to stores, museums, parks, and malls. I also hold hands with Kotomi when we are out together. The three of us sleep in the same bed and I am even… breastfeeding the children side by side with Kotomi. My strength is irrelevant because I haven't tried to find a resolution for my feelings. I have finally, after all of Kotomi's urging and convincing arguments… I have decided to embrace this… this… love._


	30. Chapter 30 - Birthdays

**Tuesday** **afternoon** **,** **August** **17** **–** **Houston** **residence** **(continued)**

* * *

Youhei had surprised them all by writing an individual letter to each of them – even Koumura. Tomoya wondered if he had been trying to impress his girlfriend. In the letter to Tomoya, Youhei reminded his old friend of the promise to come back in the winter. He also asked Tomoya formally, if he would be the Best Man and stand beside him when he married Yukine. His form had been impressive but, then again, he was pretty good friends with Kouko – a high school art teacher, and Sanae – a middle school core studies teacher.

Another important request was in Yukine's letter to old Koumura. Since she had no living family left, she asked him to play the role of the father of the bride. The old man had been trying to decide if he was going to be making the long trip back to Japan for the winter holidays, but with Yukine's heartwarming appeal, he was now decided.

Kotomi was thrilled with all the letters wishing her the best, and congratulating her on the birth of her two sons. Tomoya got a letter from his grandmother; she let him know that his father was doing much better now and had not had a drink since the beginning of the year. There was also a short note in the same envelope from his cousin Yuki. She thanked him for his advice and wished him well.

Many of the letters had pictures from the recent Obon festival. Nagisa and Ryou had both come home for the summer so there was a good sized group that went to the festival together. Kyou decided she would need to get a good frame for the pictures when she started arranging them on the table. Yukine and Youhei were holding hands and alone for once, it seemed. Another picture told why they had each other to themselves; Yoshino was there with his wife Kouko who looked every bit of seven months pregnant, and Fuko seemed to be glued to her sister's side. There was also a picture of Akio, Sanae, Tomoyo, and Mei eating candied apples together. Finally, there were several shots of Nagisa and Ryou. Most of them had been in the letter from Yukine, but everyone seemed to have at least one picture of the couple that they wanted to share with big-sister Kyou.

There were many more letters to be read, but none would affect Kyou more than the one from her dear little sister. She would, however – treasure them all. Aside from being included in several letters that were sent to all three of them, or even everyone in the house, Kyou got five letters that were addressed just to her. Tomoya noticed Kyou clutching the personal letters and the very happy look on her face.

"Hey, I have an idea," Tomoya suggested, "why don't we let Kyou be the keeper of all the letters we get while we're here."

"Eh?" Kyou gave a sharp look at Tomoya. She couldn't tell if he was picking on her or if he was serious.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Kotomi agreed, "But also… can we go get some nice stationary and write letters back to all of our friends back home?"

Kyou could see the stunned look on Tomoya's face. He knew that even if Kotomi would be satisfied with him only writing back to the people that had written to him, he would be writing a LOT of letters. Well, a lot of letters for Tomoya anyway.

"Let's go shopping for stationary this Saturday." Kyou said happily to Kotomi. She was feeling victorious when she smiled back at Tomoya. There was no way she would just sit back and let Tomoya have the last barb in their little game.

"Writing letters back and forth would be an excellent way to get to know Tomoyo-chan better too, wouldn't it Kyou?" Kotomi mentioned as she picked up another letter to read. "Ah, this one is from Kobayashi-hakase!"

Kyou's look of triumph was shattered. She had not given the final barb after all. It had deftly and unexpectedly come from Kotomi. For several minutes, Kyou just stared at Kotomi who was rapt with the letter she had received from her Godfather. _How does she do it? Does she even know when she nails me like that? No, it's impossible! Her social skills aren't nearly good enough yet. If it had come from Tomoya…_ Just then, her gaze went across to the steel blue haired young man and she froze. His hand was over his mouth so she couldn't see the ear to ear grin on his face. But she could see it in his eyes and by the way his shoulders were shaking – he was barely keeping himself from laughing out loud.

.

 **Thursday** **evening** **,** **September 9** **–** **Minami** **University Apartments**

* * *

"Wow!" Ryou was impressed. When Nagisa said she wanted to make a birthday cake, Ryou had no idea it would become something so elaborate. Well, it was elaborate in it's appearance; the top was covered with drizzles of light and dark chocolate over an explosion of colorful berries under a light glaze. It was nowhere near the size of the monster cake that Tomoyo had made for Kyou and Ryou the previous year, though. That cake had been enough for over a dozen family and friends, but this one would only be for the two of them. Remembering Tomoyo's cake brought home the fact that the two of them were far away from everyone they had known for so long. Also, they had both been away from their families for a longer time than they had ever been in their lives, but they weren't afraid. They found strength in each other.

"Do you like it?" Nagisa asked while she fidgeted with the tail of the apron she was wearing.

"It's beautiful, I didn't know you could do something like this!" Ryou said in amazement.

"Well, I did grow up in a bakery, you know." Nagisa said through her mild embarrassment at Ryou's praise.

"Wait!" Ryou cried out when she saw the Nagisa was about to take the apron off. "I want to get a picture of you and the cake, and… I'd like it if you are wearing the apron."

"Um, okay." Nagisa blushed a bit again. The apron was a gift that Ryou had given her after all. It was a bright yellow apron with lots of white lace. Nagisa thought she looked silly in something so fancy, but she knew that it made Ryou happy when she wore it. So, no matter how much she blushed when she took the fancy garment from the back of the door and tied it around her waist, she always wore it whenever she worked in the kitchen. To Nagisa, it was worth a little embarrassment to see the beautiful smile on Ryou's face.

Ryou's new phone came with a camera and an application that made it work like one of those arcade photo booths. It would chime four times and take the picture on the fourth chime. After getting it aimed right, she set the camera to take several pictures and gave an 'okay' gesture to Nagisa.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding. Nagisa smiled and looked directly at the cell phone.

Click! There was a flash that made Nagisa blink a few times. She was about to step away when she felt Ryou hold her hands and move in to stand next to her.

Ding.

Ding.

Ding. Nagisa and Ryou were still holding hands when they smiled for the second picture.

Click! Another flash and the cell phone recorded a picture of the two girlfriends together.

"One more picture." Ryou said hurriedly. She tried not to blush but she knew that she would, since she had something special in mind for this last picture.

Ding. Nagisa was still seeing spots before her eyes from the two previous pictures. Looking into that bright flash a third time was not appealing to her at all, but she would do it for her girlfriend.

Ding. An idea came to Nagisa's mind that made her blush a little. _I'll make this third picture a special one for Ryou!_

Ding. Both Nagisa and Ryou turned to kiss the other's cheek; each unaware that the other had the same idea.

Click! The camera caught the two girls holding hands and kissing each other's lips, but with surprised expressions on both of their faces.

"Ah!" the girls cringed when they looked back at the now silent cell phone and worried about what kind of picture it took.

"Don't worry," Ryou tried to assure Nagisa as she ran for her phone, "it's probably blurry anyway and I'll just delete it."

"Oh," Nagisa was still embarrassed about the camera taking a picture of their kiss, but she was a bit disappointed that Ryou sounded so eager to delete the shot.

"Ah!" Ryou cried out. She had been so nervous that she had fumbled the buttons and had accidentally engaged the messenger client. "No!" she dropped the phone but caught it before it hit the floor. When she looked at it again, the phone was restarting.

"What happened?" Nagisa wanted to help, but there were some things she had to check in the kitchen first… unless they wanted to throw away what she had been cooking and go out for dinner.

"I… I…" Ryou looked up with a horrified expression when she could see what the messenger application was telling her. "I sent the pictures!"

"To who?" Nagisa wasn't concerned at first, but that last picture…

"A group… friends…" Ryou was staring at the status on her phone that the message had been successfully sent to all group members, "...all of our friends."

Nagisa was about to say something when her own phone chimed. She looked at the incoming message and saw that it was from Ryou with three attachments. The screen on her older cell phone was not as good as Ryou's, but she could tell that there was no blurring on the third picture at all. It had beautifully captured their kiss and their shock in that singular moment of time. As embarrassing as it was, Nagisa knew she would treasure that photo forever.

"What should I do?" Ryou was almost crying. She felt devastated that she had done something so foolish. Above all else, she hoped that Nagisa didn't hate her for her clumsy indiscretion.

"It's okay Ryou," Nagisa told her panicking friend, "all of the pictures came out really well."

"Ah!" Ryou forgot that she was initially fumbling at her phone to see if the last picture was blurry, and now she was pulling up that picture to see that… it was perfect. "Oh no." _Nagisa will surely hate me now._

"Did you send that picture to my parents?" Nagisa asked as she checked the oven.

"N… no." Ryou stammered as she double-checked the list of people in her phone's 'Friends' list.

"Well, you should." Nagisa said, "If they find out that everyone else got cute pictures of us and they didn't, they'll be really sad."

"…" Ryou was at a loss for words. Nagisa's natural reaction was unbelievable. _That's what you're worried about? I just sent a picture of us kissing to all our friends and THAT is what you're worried about? But… but what about…_

"All of our friends know we're in a relationship now, right?" Nagisa could see from the stunned look on her girlfriend's face that she needed to explain herself. It pained her to see Ryou looking so stricken.

"But…" Ryou was trying hard to find some sanity in Nagisa's reaction, "What if this got around… here at the school?"

"Hee hee," Nagisa laughed a little, "I'm in the Performing and Visual Arts program. Compared to the others, I'm one of the most normal ones there."

 _True enough._ Ryou had to accept that the students in that program were always some of the most avant-garde… at any college. _Still, what I did was so terribly irresponsible. I don't know if I can…_ "Ah!" Ryou's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as arms closed around her from behind and she was pulled into a hug.

Nagisa had moved up behind Ryou while she was staring at the image on her phone. She smiled when Ryou cried out in surprise at suddenly being hugged, and kept smiling as she felt Ryou's mood finally change to something close to happy. "Better now?"

"You always know what I need." Ryou smiled as she dropped her phone into her lap and held onto both of Nagisa's hands, "How did I ever get so lucky to meet you?"

.

 **T** **hur** **sday** **early morning** **,** **September 9** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

On the other side of the world, it was very early in the morning on the same day. Kyou reached over to turn off the alarm when the sound of a chime from her phone awoke her. When she saw that she had a little more time before she had to get up, she almost ignored the phone. But the chime had a special sound to it. That was Ryou's chime. She had set up a distinctive sound to let her know when she got a message from her twin sister.

Blearily, she reached over and took the phone from the night stand. Her eyes had to focus from sleep, but she soon saw the images displayed on the screen. The first two were sweet, but the last one was a bit surprising… especially from Ryou. It made her smile though. She knew her sister was in love and she knew that Nagisa was a truly wonderful person.

 _I'm in love with a wonderful person too._ Kyou thought about her love for Tomoya that Kotomi not only allowed, but encouraged. _But, I wonder where it will end up. I want to believe in Kotomi's fantasy that we can all live happily ever after, but…_ Kyou took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had talked to a counselor at the school in general terms about something in her life that was making her anxious. He had given her an exercise to use whenever she had those overwhelming feelings of doubt and despair. Now, whenever she worried that all that was wonderful in her life was doomed to end in tears, she would close her eyes, take a deep breath, and recite positive thoughts to herself. _I want this to work, so it will work. There is nothing to fear if I am doing what I believe is right. I will have no regrets for the decision I make today._

She was mostly calm again when she opened her eyes. The cell phone was still in her hand and the picture from her sister was making her think. _If Ryou is brave enough to send me a picture like that, maybe it is time that she knows_ _about…_ _the decisions I have made_ _._ Kyou raised her hand in the air over the bed, to take a picture of herself with her head next to Kotomi's on Tomoya's chest. Tomoya's and Kotomi's faces were beautiful in sleep and she couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth when she thought about how good they looked together and how much they meant to each other… and how much they meant to her. _Maybe it's time to tell Ryou that she can stop worrying about her Onee-chan._

But no, Kyou lowered her arm without taking the picture. _I'm just not ready for that much… not yet. Today, Ryou – you are the brave_ _r_ _one_ _. Happy birthday sis._

.

The sound of a crying infant rescued Kyou from falling into melancholy. After hearing only the first few seconds of the baby's cry for attention, she felt the milk in her breast drop and she hurried out of bed and into the adjoining nursery. This was another form of therapy for her. Perhaps even more powerful than any kind of self-hypnosis could be. Kyou would sing happy songs and lullaby's to the boys when she fed them. Shuichi's purple eyes or Shuji's blue eyes would look up to her while they suckled from her breast and held onto her with their little hands. Bonds of love and trust grew stronger every time Kyou took them into her arms. Already, both of the boys reached out to her as easily and accepted her as thoroughly as they did their real mother. At first, Kyou was concerned that Kotomi might finally discover jealousy when her children were involved. But her fears could not have been farther from the truth; Kotomi seemed to be at her happiest when she and Kyou were side by side – caring for the babies.

A happiness swelled up in Kyou as she gently rocked the feeding infant. This time, it was blue eyed Shuji that woke up first, but Shuichi would be awake soon and Kyou would treat him with all the love she was now showing the younger twin. "I love you boys so much. You are my boys just as much as you are Kotomi's. She said so. She even promised, and I am going to hold her to it. No matter what may come, you will always be mine and I will always be there for you." Kyou didn't realize she was saying the words aloud until she heard Kotomi.

"Thank you, Kyou-chan." Kotomi said as she picked up Shuichi and got ready to feed him in the other rocking chair, "you don't know how happy it makes me to hear that. The idea that my children could grow up without the love of their parents worried me more than my fear of flying."

"Oh." Kyou remembered how Kotomi had held onto her hand so intensely that she almost broke it – on their flight from Japan the previous winter. "I knew it was a concern, but I didn't know it worried you that much."

"Indeed," Kotomi sighed, "but now that fear is all but gone. Thanks to you."

"Oh… uh… you are most welcome. And, thank you for giving me such a wonderful opportunity." Kyou was flustered from the unexpected praise, and reverted to professional speaking. Then she asked the girl genius, "So, what is your greatest fear now?"

"My greatest fear now," Kotomi turned and looked into Kyou's eyes as a single tear slid down her cheek, "my greatest fear now is that you will grow weary of my selfishness and… you will leave."

"What?" Kyou wanted to reach out to Kotomi but the hand that could reach her was supporting the baby she was holding, "No, Kotomi! Kyou said with conviction that she hoped Kotomi believed, "I will never leave… our family! Not of my own will. The only way… the _only_ way I would leave is if you sent me away."

"You… you said, _our family_ didn't you!" Kotomi was crying more now but they were tears of joy and excitement. "You didn't say that you would never leave Tomoya, or me, or the children… And you didn't say 'the family' or 'your family' this time! You said that you will never leave _our family_!"

"Um, yes?" Kyou could tell that Kotomi was happy but she had never imagined that she could make Kotomi this excited.

"Thank you, Kyou-chan! Thank you so much." Kotomi sniffled some tears away and said, "I feel so wonderful now, I wish I could feel this way for the rest of my life!"

Kyou remembered something Kobayashi-hakase had told her at Tomoya and Kotomi's wedding. He had said that Kotomi would need her not just now, but in the future. He was worried that some day Kyou might leave and Kotomi would be devastated. She hadn't really believed him at the time, but after a year, and after Kotomi's reaction, now… she believed.

It made her feel good, but at the same time, like challenging the unknown, it was a little frightening.

.

 **Friday morning** **,** **October** **22** **–** **Abe Private Hospital**

* * *

Yoshino was standing at the windows of the small hospital room where his wife, Kouko was recovering. She had been in labor for a long time but it had ended well, with a successful delivery and a healthy baby. His daughter, Maiko was still sleeping in the covered crib next to his wife's bed. Having seen the life brought into this world by the love between him and Kouko was enough to make him start singing again. He probably would be singing too, had it not been for the depressing view outside the hospital windows.

In the past thirty days, Japan had been hit by three Typhoon class storms. Many people had died and there was a lot of damage. Outside the windows of the hospital room, Yoshino could see light poles and power lines that had not survived the powerful winds and occasional tornadoes that typhoon's sometimes spawned. Signs and fences had been damaged and in low lying areas, homes had been flooded to the point that the people had to be rescued. Across the country, millions of people were without power. More than anything else, that was the part that would directly affect him.

As an electrician, his services would be needed constantly for the next several weeks. There would be a lot of work in his home town, but he would also be traveling to other areas that had been devastated by the storms as well. And, that wasn't fair to Kouko. Fortunately, she had already arranged to take some time off from her teaching, so there shouldn't be an issue there. But he knew that his own house was in one of the many neighborhoods without power. The company he worked for had not been contracted to work on reestablishing that part of the grid, so he had no idea when power to his own home might be restored. Too late, he had tried to acquire a generator, but there were none to be had by now.

Kouko had been completely understanding, and even seemed to feel proud of her husband that he would be needed by so many people. But that didn't help the ache in his heart that he would be leaving his wife to fend for herself with a newborn baby in a house without power… while he left town for work. He had called his coworkers, he boss, his friends… even Sunohara-san. All of them said they would see what they could come up with, but most of them had their own troubles. The idea that he was powerless to help his family was infuriating. In his growing rage, his hand squeezed his cell phone until he heard a faint cracking sound coming from it.

"Yoshino-san?" a girl's voice called to him from the doorway of the hospital room.

"Yes?" he answered wearily as he turned to face the voice. He had been expecting a nurse or some other hospital attendant to be there to tell him that they needed the room and he would have to take his wife and child home now. Instead, he saw Yukine, Fuko, and the tall platinum blond girl that Yukine went to school with. Now that he saw them, he realized that it had been Yukine that had called out to him.

"We have met a few times, my name is Tomoyo." the girl introduced herself.

"Yes, thank you." Yusuke took a step toward the covered crib, "I guess you want to see the baby?"

"YES!" Fuko cried out, but she was held back by Yukine and Tomoyo not letting go of her hands. With a hurt expression, she turned to Yukine and pouted, "But Fuko does want to see the baby."

"Yes Fuko-chan," Yukine said patiently, "but first we must tell Yoshino-san of the arrangement so he can stop worrying about his family."

"Arrangement?" Yoshino asked. For the first time today, he felt hopeful about his family's situation. Part of him didn't want to get his hope up too much. After all, being rescued by a couple of teenagers in such a hopeless situation seemed a tad far-fetched. Then again, Yukine was Sunohara's girlfriend and that boy had amazed him so many times now that his faith in Youhei was unimpeachable.

"Youhei called Tomoya and Kotomi after you called him about your situation." Tomoyo explained, "Your family is welcome to stay at the Ichinose house with me."

"But, the power outage affects your neighborhood too." Yoshino appreciated the offer, but without power, his wife was going to need a lot more help than what a high school girl could offer.

"The Ichinose house has some kind of backup power." Tomoyo said.

" _Some kind of_ … like a diesel generator?" Yoshino asked.

"I don't think so." Tomoyo admitted, "I've looked all through the house and outside the house and I can't find anything. But there is a control panel in the utility shed that gives a reading for the backup power. Whenever power is normal, the reading is a hundred percent, but it starts to slowly fall whenever there is an outage."

"How long has power been out in your neighborhood?" Yoshino asked.

"Almost three days now." Tomoyo answered.

"What was the reading on the monitor the last time you looked at it?" Yoshino asked.

"I checked before we left to come here." Tomoyo told him, "It was at ninety-seven percent."

"Hmmm." Yoshino gave it a little thought. He knew that Tomoyo was no idiot and you would have to be a special kind of dimwit not to notice the sound that a diesel or gas generator would be making. _A bank of batteries under the house or in the attic? No… batteries need to be serviced from time to time. Whatever the case, if it only fell three percent over three days, they should have power for at least a month and possibly two or three._ _Even with the increased power usage that having guests would cause, they should have more than enough power to last until the lines are restored in her area._ "Thank you very much, Tomoyo-sama." Yoshino said respectfully to the girl that had just dismissed his greatest fear, "Please take care of my family."

"NOW? NOW? NOW?" Fuko was almost hyperventilating, "Can Fuko see the baby now?"

"Fu-chan?" Kouko woke up then and looked around the room. "Oh my, I have visitors? I must look a mess!"

"You look positively radiant." Yukine sounded awed as she looked at the new mother.

"Thank you so much, Yukine-chan!" Kouko blushed at the complement but it didn't slow her down from pulling back the cover on the crib so they all could see. "Her name is Maiko. She's not ready to be picked up and passed around yet, but I promise you'll all get a chance to hold her in the coming days."

"Maiko… it means, _dancing child_ , right?" Yukine asked. The baby girl's eyes opened just as Yukine asked her question.

"Look at those beautiful blue eyes!" Fuko gasped.

"She has her father's eyes." Kouko confirmed. "I've always loved Yoshino's lovely blue eyes."

"Yes." Yukine speculated, "With Yoshino-san's eyes and your looks, this girl is going to have a lot of boys following her around some day."

"Come to think of it," Tomoyo commented, "Tomoya and Kotomi's boys were born in May. If they come back here after college, they could be in the same school or even the same class with your daughter."

"Wouldn't it be nice if one of them ended up going out with her?" Yukine smiled.

"Oh my, what a romantic thought," Kouko gave a happy sigh, "but that's pretty far away. Who knows where we'll all be a decade from now?"

 _A lot of boys following her around?_ Yoshino had turned back to the window so no-one could see his rebuilding rage. _She was just born a few hours ago and these_ _insane_ _girls are already talking about her future boyfriends? Never! I can never let this happen! Maybe we should move to a rural area in Hokkaido, or maybe some remote island…_

.

 **Friday** **afternoon** **,** **October** **29** **–** **William Marsh University,** **Strange Particle Physics Lab**

* * *

In the main room with the giant, and recently updated particle accelerator, there was a sound that resonated through even the thick brick construction of the building. A low frequency hum was interspersed with even deeper _thrum_ sounds at regular intervals. A crackling sound, as if coming from invisible lightning, occurred intermittently as the big machine's power was slowly ramped up. Graduate level engineering students had fought for the few available spots to work on this project and could be seen everywhere in the accelerator room in their white lab coats. Due to the loud environment of the accelerator room, they all wore extensive ear protection and communicated with each other by using small white-boards.

"We have to do something about that." the professor said as he stood next to Kotomi in the control room. They could see the engineering students on the monitors as they observed the status, data, and observations from numerous grad students, fellow researchers, and the machines themselves.

"Indeed," Kotomi had already been analyzing the possibilities. One danger that she foresaw was a show-stopper. If the low frequency noise was this pervasive while the reactor and accelerator were only at eleven percent, bringing it up to fifty percent could theoretically cause structural damage to the surrounding building. "I would like to stop today's tests at twelve and a half percent, Professor."

"Oh?" the professor wasn't being critical, but wanting to stop short of the projected goal was unusual for the genius student.

"Yes." Kotomi was already thinking ahead to what needed to be done as she tapped the data on one of the monitors to bring the professor's attention to the numbers that had been concerning her. Still pointing at the screen for the professor, she called out to one of the graduate physics students that had recently been proving herself useful.

"Melissa-chan." Kotomi called out. Even though Kotomi tried to embrace the western usage of names, she still reverted to her culture's use of honorifics when she was under stress, and now was one of those times.

"Kotomi-chan?" Melissa answered as she stepped up beside Kotomi. Along with most of the other students and researchers that worked with the purple haired genius, she was all too familiar with the acknowledgement process that Kotomi sometimes used. At first, they had thought of it as a cute personality tic, but over time they had begun to notice that it was the people that were truly useful and important to Kotomi that she would engage this way. Now, it was an honor to exchange acknowledgements with her.

"I would like you to put a team together. You may need others, but you will need civil engineering, acoustic engineering, and physics students at the very least." Kotomi watched the girl's expression though she knew she still wasn't very good at reading such things... "Do you already know what my concern is?"

"Um…" Melissa tried to think of everything that she had seen or heard since today's test had begun. Nothing came to mind. _Perhaps there is a clue in what Kotomi-chan asked for? Let's see… a civil engineering student, an acoustic engineering student, and a physics student? Does she want to build a recording studio? No, with a physics student in the mix, that can't be it! Then… what?_ Melissa had to admit that she couldn't figure it out with what she had observed so far. "No, Kotomi-chan. I do not know."

"Watch this monitor as we run the reactor up from eleven percent to twelve and a half percent." Kotomi indicated the monitor that she had previously pointed out to the professor.

Melissa stepped around the professor, to be in the best position to watch the indicated monitor. A few other nearby students watched it too. They all wanted to see if they could figure out what could be troubling the brilliant young Japanese girl so much.

After Kotomi nodded to the professor, he signaled his assistant and soon they were all keenly observing the monitors and hearing the results of the increased power pouring into the accelerator.

"Eleven point two five." the assistant called out.

Melissa was still trying to figure out what it was that Kotomi wanted her so see. On the video monitor next to the data monitor that Kotomi had indicated, she saw a couple of the engineering students that were in the building with the reactor put their hands over their headsets. _The noise must be incredible in there. Noise?_ She glanced over at the indicated sound levels on the environmental monitor and had a flash of inspiration.

"Eleven point five." the assistant announced.

"Stop the test!" Melissa cried out. Her voice had sounded so panicked that the professor's assistant immediately gave the signal to ramp down the power, without waiting for his boss's approval.

"I believe you have come to the correct conclusion," Kotomi said to the older girl as she stood up, "I would like to hear your thoughts now."

"Kotomi-chan," Melissa felt embarrassed with the attention of everyone in the room, but she would struggle through it if there was a possibility that she might impress Kotomi-chan, "you are concerned that the frequency and amplitude of the test may cause structural failure in the building that surrounds the accelerator. Am I correct?"

"Yes, very good," Kotomi smiled, "But please tell me why you are so distressed."

"Japan is subject to typhoons and earthquakes, so the buildings there are built to be resilient to those natural disasters." Melissa explained her reasoning to the younger and shorter freshman as if she were having to explain her actions to the dean of the college, "Houston similarly has hurricanes, but we don't have earthquakes here, so we don't build for them. I'm sure that a building that had been built to Japanese earthquake standards would be able to withstand the intensity of those vibrations up to twelve and a half percent, but I can't say the same for the current building."

"Very good Melissa-chan," Kotomi smiled and went up on her toes to pat the taller girl's head in the same way that Tomoya patted hers when she correctly figured out a social skill.

Melissa was stunned at her own reaction. Had anyone else suddenly patted her head, she would have knocked their hand away with a fist and a glare. But, before she knew what she was doing, she found herself bowing slightly to give the shorter Kotomi easier access to her head.

"Do you already know who you want on your team?" Kotomi asked as she reached for her bag and her purse.

"I need to talk to a few people in the acoustic science program, but I know who I want for the other positions."

"Very well then," Kotomi smiled to everyone, "Let's meet at the usual time on Monday."

"You're leaving, Kotomi-chan?" the professor asked.

"Yes," Kotomi said excitedly, "tomorrow is my husband's birthday. Kyou and I are preparing something very special for him."

Several of the students in the room turned away with reddened faces when they heard her plans. It was hard not to have a crush on the beautiful young genius, but they all knew by now that she was entirely devoted to her family. Not even the excitement of this research program would keep her away from her husband and her children… and the mysterious Kyou.

Only the students that had met her in the early days of the spring semester had met Fujibayashi Kyou, and the difference between her and Kotomi had been astounding. Where Kotomi was initially soft-spoken and shy, Kyou was amiable and outgoing – yet had an aura of confidence and barely restrained aggression like a warrior. A very few students that had offered up a slur at the freshman that dared think of herself as a post-graduate student or researcher, had suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of Kyou's ire… and shortly after – the professor's displeasure. Afterwards, they would agree that the fear of any reprisal from the professor was nothing compared to the horror of facing the avenging angel of darkness, named Kyou. After all, the professor could only destroy their futures so that the best they could hope for was serving fast-food for the rest of their lives, but no-one wanted to test Kyou to see of she really could shred their bodies and devour their souls.

.

 **Saturday** **noon** **,** **October** **30** **–** **Astroworld**

* * *

The city's grand amusement park was open on the weekends through the end of the month for their Halloween themed celebrations. That had worked out nicely for Kotomi and Kyou's plans to have a special birthday surprise for Tomoya. Not all plans are without their hiccups though. There were a few things that Kotomi had not anticipated after all.

She had planned against how uncomfortable the thrill rides could be on lactating breasts and had ordered special sport bra's for Kyou and herself. However, she hadn't anticipated just how ferocious some of those rides could be. It turned out that the special bra's were insufficient for anything that suddenly dropped or shook violently. Unfortunately, it turned out that Tomoya really liked exactly the sort of ride that was the most uncomfortable for Kotomi and Kyou's sensitive breasts.

The other thing she had not counted on, was how unfortunate a party of three was. It seemed that all the rides were designed for two or four. But this was something she could resolve.

By lunch time, they had been on several of the less violent rides and a few of the ones that seemed to excite Tomoya the most. But they were all hungry now and both of the girls would have to make use of the breast pump that they had left in the Guest Services office. While Kyou was in the private room and Tomoya was off buying their lunch, Kotomi retrieved her cell phone.

"Kotomi-chan?" Melissa answered the unexpected phone call from the girl genius. She had just come from a meeting and had made her selection of two acoustic science students for the team Kotomi had put her in charge of. _Does she want an update from me now? How did she know I had just made my selection?_

"Melissa-chan," Kotomi wondered why they were using suffixes but if it made Melissa more comfortable, she did not object. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"Um…" Melissa didn't actually have any plans, but she hadn't thought they would be working on anything today. "No, I'm free. Do you want to meet at the lab?"

"The lab?" Kotomi wondered if there was something Melissa wanted to work on in the lab, so she asked, "No, I was wondering if you could join us at Astroworld?"

"Huh?" Melissa was stunned. She had never imagined the intense sciency girl being interested in amusement parks. Then again, Kotomi was married and had children, so there had to be many facets of the girl genius's personality that were unknown to her. Suddenly it hit Melissa that Kotomi was asking her to have fun together. _She's… she's asking me!_ "Yes! I would love to go! I can be there in thirty minutes."

"Excellent." Kotomi checked the time on her cell phone as she asked, "Do you enjoy the thrill rides?"

"Yes!" Melissa realized that she could hear amusement park sounds in the background of Kotomi's conversation and figured out that her physics mentor was already at the park, "My favorite is the Cyclone!"

"Ah yes," Kotomi remembered seeing the monstrously big wooden roller coaster from the comfort of the Astroneedle ride. Astroneedle was a grand name, but it wasn't much more than a slowly revolving glass elevator that seemed to go hundreds of meters into the air before slowly descending. But after a ride on something that had obviously been designed by a sadist intent on bruising every part of the body in under ninety seconds, the slow elevator into the sky had been a godsend. "We haven't ridden that one yet. I hope you get here soon. Call me when you do and we'll meet in Guest Services. I already have your ticket."

"Thank you, Kotomi-chan!" Melissa called out, but Kotomi had already been disconnected. As she rushed out to her car, she remembered something Kotomi had said in the conversation. _'We haven't ridden that one yet.' We? Oh, that's right – today is her husband's birthday. What did she say yesterday? 'Kyou and I are preparing something very special for him.' So, I guess she wants me along to be a fourth to ride with Kyou. That's okay with me, I am still invited by Kotomi-chan… and who wouldn't want to go to Astroworld!_

.

"This is Melissa." Kotomi made the introductions as they walked through the late 19th century Americana themed entrance to the park, "she is a graduate student and is working with me on my project."

"This is Tomoya." Kotomi said, "Tomoya is attending the city university and he is the husband in our family."

That explanation made Melissa smile at the obviousness of the statement. But her smile changed to stunned disbelief with Kotomi's final introduction.

"This is Kyou." Kotomi said with the same politeness, "She is attending the city university with Tomoya and is the courtesan in our family."

"Kotomi!" Tomoya and Kyou both gaped.

"Eh?" Kotomi looked back at them blankly, "What?"

"You didn't really mean to say that Kyou is your husband's courtesan did you?" Melissa asked. It was rare to hear Kotomi make a vocabulary mistake, but there was always a first time.

"Would 'concubine' be a more appropriate term?" Kotomi asked.

"KOTOMI!" Tomoya and Kyou both gaped again. This time they were both blushing furiously as well.

"What?" Kotomi was concerned at the seemingly angry reactions she was getting from Tomoya and Kyou. "Did I say something wrong again?"

"Kotomi." Tomoya stopped walking and held his arm out for his wife. Kotomi's worry mostly evaporated when she stepped into his embrace and let him fold his arms around her. "You didn't do anything wrong. You just surprised us with that introduction."

"Melissa," Kyou explained through her blush, "I hope you are not offended by this. Those two are married to each other legally, but due to certain circumstances, the three of us are in a… relationship. Since neither Japan, nor this country allow polygamy, there seems to be no decent title that fits my… status." _She probably thinks I'm a home-wrecker or a whore now._

"I'm not offended," Melissa took a step forward and put her hand on Kyou's arm, "I am used to saying 'Kotomi-chan'. May I call you Kyou-chan?"

"Yes," Kyou was surprised at the warmth from this newly met person, "I would be honored."

"Kyou-chan, the important questions aren't about what title you wear or whether your lifestyle is blessed by the church and state – or not. The only important questions are – Do you love each other, and are you happy?"

"Yes!" Kyou found that it was quite liberating to her soul to tell a stranger how she felt.

"My college is not a religious school." Melissa took Kyou's arm and started the group walking again as she talked to Kyou but loud enough for Tomoya and Kotomi to hear her as well. "Marsh is a university that pushes scientific discovery and the understanding of the natural world to the furthest reaches possible. Monogamy is an artificial construct invented by man and his religion. It is not natural or scientific. If you have found a lifestyle that is mutually beneficial to all its members and everyone involved is happy, is that not the best result that anyone could ever hope for?"

"You…" Kyou was stunned at the older girl's broad-minded viewpoint, and appreciated the support that she felt from those few words. "You are amazing."

"No, Kyou-chan." Melissa smiled, "You are amazing and courageous to defy the norm and live your life in such an uncompromising way. Your decisions are your own and you don't have to tell me about anything that you don't want to. But I would be willing to listen some time, if you like."

"Thank you Melissa… chan." Kyou looked up to the taller girl, "I will keep that in mind."

"So, here we are at the Cyclone. The biggest roller coaster in the park." Melissa said dreamily then turned to Kyou and asked, "Shall we ride it together, you and I?"

"Uh… no." Kyou had to excuse herself since she had been feeling the same pains as Kotomi, "We are both… um… lactating."

"What?" Melissa balked.

"We have two babies at home and we use the milk produced by our breasts to feed…" Kotomi started to explain what she thought Melissa didn't understand.

"I know what lactating is!" Melissa gaped, then said to Kotomi, "But I thought both of the babies were yours. Why is Kyou-chan lactating?" _Does she have children with this guy too?_

"I used chemicals, hormones, and herbs on her." Kotomi actually seemed proud of herself as she told of the experiments great success, "I made a six month program work in only four months and now she produces as much milk as I do!"

"But… why?" Melissa looked past the fiercely blushing Kyou to ask Kotomi, "Why would you do such a thing?"

"So that she can feel the connection and love with the babies when she feeds them." Kotomi answered as if defending a hypothesis, "According to my research, there is no better way to establish that level of love and trust with a newborn child."

Melissa opened her mouth to say something but just closed it again. This was unbelievable in the extreme. She had known that Kotomi was a genius but now she was worrying if she might need a leash… or a handler. "Kyou-chan," Melissa said quietly, "I've changed my mind. I can't wait for you to be ready to talk to me. As soon as our schedules permit… I want to hear _everything_ , okay?"

"Yeah… it's a deal." Kyou agreed. She knew she could easily deny the girl's request, but being able to talk things out with someone else sounded like it could really help her to understand her own feelings better.

"All right stud," Melissa called out to Tomoya as she gestured to the big wooden roller coaster behind her, "it looks like it's you and me on this one. Let's _ride_ this thing!"

Kyou watched a new friend disappear with Tomoya into the queue house of the big white roller coaster. Unlike seeing Tomoyo-chan with him, she noticed that she didn't have even the slightest stirring of jealousy. She was still thinking about her feelings when she felt a tug on her sleeve. Turning, she saw Kotomi looking downcast.

"You're not upset with me are you, Kyou-chan?" Kotomi asked quietly.

"Were you trying to be mean to me?" Kyou answered the question with a question as she lifted her purple haired friend's chin so that they could look into each other's eyes.

"No, Kyou-chan!" Kotomi said earnestly, "I promise you that I wasn't trying to do that."

"I didn't think you were." Kyou gave her friend a half-smile, "so I wasn't upset."

"But…" Kotomi distinctly remembered Kyou's red face when she and Tomoya yelled her name only a few minutes ago.

"I didn't say I wasn't embarrassed or shocked," Kyou pointed out and insisted, "but I wasn't upset with you."

"Oh… okay." Kotomi brightened a little, but still seemed down. "I'm sorry for embarrassing you, Kyou-chan. Sometimes I wish I could flee to one of the parallel dimensions when I make mistakes like that."

"What do you mean?" Kyou asked before she realized that she just gave Kotomi license to launch into one of her super-science lectures.

"It's just that," Kotomi took Kyou's arm as she tried to put her thoughts into words that her friend would understand, "In a parallel world that is very close to our own, I might have better social skills and I might not embarrass you so much."

"One of those parallel worlds could be that similar to this one?" Kyou asked.

"Theoretically." Kotomi answered.

"Hmm…" Kyou thought about a world like that, "but in that world, you wouldn't have needed Tomoya to help you have friends. You wouldn't have needed me to help you with your social skills. So in that world, you would probably be here without us."

"That's true." Kotomi agreed, "There are sure to be unexpected consequences with travel to a parallel universe, like there would be with time travel within your own universe."

"Oh," Kyou could barely follow Kotomi's thoughts but she did remember seeing a movie once where a guy went back in time and, after falling in love with a girl, realized that he was his own great-great-grandfather. Her eyes still crossed when she thought about that one too much. "So, would there be parallel universes that are more than just a little bit different?"

"Sure." Kotomi was happy that Kyou was taking at least this much interest in her research, "There could be a universe where everything else is the same, but this amusement park does not exist. Or perhaps it does exist, but with a different assortment of rides or a different color scheme."

"Wow." Kyou tried to imagine the park in a different way than the way it was just now, but she couldn't. She didn't think of herself as being unimaginative, it was just that the place seemed to be perfect just the way it was. _Well… maybe I would take out one of the burger places and put in a shop that sold ramen and sushi._ Hoping to change of subject before her friend got any deeper into her sciency stuff, Kyou pulled out her map and asked Kotomi, "So, after they get off this roller coaster, where do you want to go next?"

"I've been thinking about seeing the shows and going to the rides that won't be too painful for us." Kotomi said.

"Yeah, good idea." Kyou agreed. She was pretty sure her breasts were bigger than her sister's now and the thrill rides were just too painful to endure.

"That limits us to…" Kotomi announced as she read over the map, "the carousel, the cable cars, the taxi's, the train, and The River of No Return."

"Huh?" Kyou followed Kotomi's finger to the Plaza de Fiesta section of the park. After looking at the pictures on the map she worried, "That looks like a thrill ride."

"It's a themed ride." Kotomi had read up on all the rides in the park before making the plans for Tomoya's birthday, so she had some idea what to expect. "It tells a story of Incas and Aztecs and pirates, but it doesn't make any violent motions."

"That sounds fun!" Kyou agreed as she spied Tomoya and Melissa coming down the exit ramp from the big roller coaster, "Since it's Tomoya's birthday, why don't we suggest splitting up for a while? They can hit all the thrill rides while we see some shows and ride the easy rides. Then we can join back up for dinner."

Kotomi didn't like the idea at first, but the pain in her chest convinced her otherwise.

.

 **Satur** **day** **night** **,** **Octo** **ber** **30** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

At the end of the day, Tomoya had to admit that it had been the best birthday ever. As he thought over all the things he had done that day - the food, the games, and the wild thrill rides - a though occurred to him and he started laughing. The girls could tell from the sound of it that it wasn't a heckling laugh, or a sinister laugh. It sounded like there was something he was genuinely happy about.

"What's so funny?" Kyou asked from her position on his left side.

"Do you remember how you met Kotomi?" Tomoya asked.

"Sure," Kyou said, "it was when you were taking her around to find her some friends."

"Yeah," Tomoya pointed out, "Today, Kotomi found us a new friend."

"Eh!" Kyou went up on one arm and looked across at the purple haired girl resting on the other side of Tomoya, "That's right Kotomi, that's great!"

"Huh?" Kotomi was exhausted and couldn't get too excited at this late hour, but she could see that Kyou was very happy about something.

"Think of it this way," Kyou said to her, "it's a sign of how far you've come that _you_ are now introducing a friend to _us_!"

"Oh…" a smile spread across Kotomi's face when she realized what Kyou was telling her. There was confusion at first when she wondered who this friend was that they were talking about. _They are talking about Melissa? But is she my friend? Surely she is a valuable team member and a fellow student, but she never agreed to be my friend. How did that happen? Was it when I asked her to join us, or perhaps when she agreed to it? Did I… did I really make a friend all by myself? Oh Tomoya, I know this is your birthday, but why do I feel like I am the one who got the greatest gift of all?_


	31. Chapter 31 - Into the Abyss

**Monday morning** **,** **November** **1** **–** **Hikarizaka Private High School**

* * *

The cultural festival was here again. As third years, Yukine and Tomoyo's classes were not as involved with the festival as they had been in the past. Like most of the other third year students, they were too focused on their upcoming exams to spend time frivolously. But, that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy the efforts and labors of their kohai.

Youhei wanted to join his fiancé for the visit to his alma-matter's fall production, but this was an important time for his classes at the Tokyo Police Academy too. He, as well as the rest of the freshmen at his school, had been warned that the semester between the summer break and the winter break would be extremely busy. Youhei discovered that they weren't kidding about that… but it wasn't real work or studying either. Much of it was simply designed to test the student's resolve and mettle to continue in the program. The test was working. Already, a third of his class had dropped out. Youhei would not give in though. Whenever he thought he might be getting close to his breaking point, he would remember that he had a lot of people believing in him. Yukine and his sister Mei came to mind immediately. But there was also Fuko, Tomoya, and even Tomoyo that had told him that they believe in him as well. Faced with the difficult schedules and tasks that the school was throwing at him, he showed them only his inflexible determination.

"You're proud of Youhei, aren't you?" Tomoyo asked Yukine as they walked through the hallway of the first year classrooms together. Neither of them had planned on going at first, mostly because of financial reasons. But Mei wouldn't allow that on Yukine's behalf, and Akio wouldn't allow it for Tomoyo.

"Of course I am," Yukine sounded delighted to answer such a question, "and I have you to thank for some of that."

"Me?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yup," Yukine explained, "If it hadn't been for you making him work with the Disciplinary Committee last year, I don't think he would have been interested in a future as a policeman at all."

"I thought he was studying to become a detective?" Tomoyo queried.

"Oh, he is." Yukine assured her friend, "but even the top graduates of the academy have to work as uniformed policemen for a while before they can become detectives."

"Oh," Tomoyo hadn't known that, but there was something else she wanted to ask about while it was just her and Yukine, "What about you? Have you decided what you're going to do after graduation?"

"Not really." Yukine sounded fairly upbeat for having such an undecided answer, "I will be Sunohara Yukine by then, so it's something I will need to discuss with Youhei and his parents soon, I guess."

"His parents?" Tomoyo asked. Her own parents not being that reliable, made her suspicious of parental involvement in a person trying to decide about their future.

"Yes." Yukine stopped to buy a bag of cookies from the Cooking Club. After offering one to Tomoyo, she continued, "They have been quite wonderful to me since my brother died. According to Youhei's mother, I am already a member of the family."

"Still…" Tomoyo was about to point out that this is an important time in her life and she shouldn't allow anyone to interfere with making the right decision.

"Tomoyo," Yukine took the taller girl's hand and told her, "I would not be able to continue coming to this school had it not been for their support. They are not the kind of people that are going to ask me to repay the money and yet, my obligation to them is not insignificant."

"Obligation…" Tomoyo didn't want to be thinking what just came to her mind, but her first several impressions of Youhei had not been good ones, "He's not making you stay with him out of some kind of obligation is he?"

"No no no," fortunately, Yukine wasn't upset with the question and almost laughed her response, "I loved him before my brother passed away and I feel like I love him more and more every day. You don't need to worry about anything like that."

"Oh, I suppose you're right." Tomoyo recalled that Youhei and Yukine had been going out with each other for quite a while before her brother died, so she could drop that suspicion. She also reconsidered her argument about Yukine discussing her future with someone else, and rethought her own decision as well. Patting her pocket and feeling the wad of money that Akio had thrust into her hand that morning, she wondered if it might not be the right thing to discuss her own future with Akio and Sanae.

"The performance club is going to take the stage in the auditorium soon." Yukine said after looking at her watch, "Shall we go?"

"Yes, I would like to see that." Tomoyo wanted to see if Sugisaka had recovered completely after her harrowing adventure with the flood water. She had seen the girls several times since then, but it was hard to tell if the trauma might have some lingering effect just from the occasional hallway conversation.

The performance club would be Yukine's legacy. She had done her best to assemble a club that would last for a very long time. With the interests of the Drama Club, the Choir Club, and the Paranormal Research Clubs combined, it had the best chance of lasting for years to come. It was all for her dear friend Fuko, or at least it was for Fuko's ikiryo. The ghost girl, as some called her, had become a good and dear friend to everyone in the club, but especially to Yukine and Youhei. Trapped in the body of a first year student, she wouldn't be able to graduate with Yukine this year, just as she was not able to graduate with Youhei and his class the year before. But, because of the way Yukine had set up the Performance Club, she would now be assured of having friends instead of running through the halls alone, year after year.

"I can't wait to see Fuko performing with her friends!" Yukine said excitedly.

"You know, you're like a mother to that girl." Tomoyo observed, "Isn't she older than you?"

"The real Fuko is older than me." Yukine said, "But the ikiryo seems to be frozen at the age when the accident happened. So, it looks like she'll always be fifteen."

"I hope she wakes up from that coma before you really are old enough to be her mother." Tomoyo said hopefully.

"I do too," Yukine replied, "but at the same time… I don't want her to wake up just yet."

"Why not?" Tomoyo asked.

"I don't know what will happen when she wakes up." Yukine said sadly, "The real Fuko might wake up and have no memory of any of us. Or she might remember us but all of us will have forgotten her. Or, we might all forget that we knew each other."

"Isn't is also possible that we will all remember her and she will have all the memories of her ikiryo and be able to remember us too?" Tomoyo asked.

"It's possible, but… it's just as possible that we'll all forget." Yukine looked down and told her friend, "I know it's selfish, but I want her to still be an ikiryo at least long enough to come to my wedding."

"It might be selfish, but I think it's okay." Tomoyo encouraged her friend, "You're very close to her and she means a lot to you. So it's only natural that you'd want her to be there."

"Thanks… for understanding." Yukine said.

"Sure." Tomoyo was enjoying the cookie that Yukine had given her, but she was starting to feel hungry for something a little more filling. "After the show, let's get something to eat."

Fuko would be singing in the morning and afternoon's performance. She had been practicing a lot with the choir and had been thrilled when both Yukine and her sister Kouko said they would be able to attend. Yukine and Fuko had known since the return from the summer break that Youhei would still be at his college while the festival was going on, so it wasn't a surprise that he couldn't be there. Kouko's husband, Yusuke had originally had the day off, but after the previous week's damage caused by Typhoon Tokage and the Chuetsu earthquake, it was impossible now. Electricians, repairmen, and construction workers were in high demand all over the country at the moment.

"Sensei!" Tomoyo called out as soon as she saw the overburdened woman struggling through the entrance gate to the school. She immediately took off at a run.

"Kouko?" Yukine started running a moment later when she saw what it was that had made Tomoyo react so quickly. Even though Yukine was running as fast as she could, the athletic nature of the platinum blond's speed made her feel as if she were standing still. By the time she caught up with the two of them, she was panting heavily while Tomoyo talked with Kouko as if she hadn't done more than take a few short steps.

"You carried all of this up the long winding path?" Tomoyo had already taken the baby bag and the baby from Kouko to give her a moment to rest.

"I didn't think… it was that difficult… when I started." Kouko panted, "I've walked this path… many times before."

"Sensei," Tomoyo said sympathetically, "you went through childbirth within the last two weeks. A lot of things will be more difficult than they once were."

"Um…" Yukine had been hearing the conversation but her eyes were locked on the baby currently in Tomoyo's arms. Little Maiko was sleeping soundly at the moment, but Yukine couldn't get over the incredible beauty of the small child. The wonder of the infant within her grasp made her unaware of everything else around her. As if a leash were attached to her heart, she could feel the pull toward the child. The urge to hold the baby in her arms was unbelievably strong.

"Oh my," Kouko could see the unmasked desire on Yukine's face and smiled, "Tomoyo-chan, do you think you can let Yukine-chan hold the baby?"

"Eh?" Tomoyo turned to her friend and saw the eagerness bordering on desperation. Without a word, she offered the child over to a grateful and very eager Yukine.

Carefully and gingerly, the baby was accepted by tender loving arms and held close to a chest whose heart beat with joyous rapture. Yukine carefully caressed the cheek of the baby girl with the back of her fingers as tears of happiness formed in her eyes. "Thank you, Kouko-sensei. Thank you so much."

Tomoyo's eyes were open wide as she watched her friend holding the infant child. She had heard of the overwhelming desire to have a baby that some girls had. It had been a topic of conversation ever since middle school when they had that special health class. In the years since then, she had known some girls to claim they were afflicted with the desire, but it always seemed more like a tool just to get attention. But the look on Yukine's face was different. There was no faking that look or mistaking it's meaning. Just by looking at the euphoric smile on her face as she held the baby, it was easy to see that this was more than just a desire… more than a craving. With every fiber of her being, Yukine wanted a baby in her arms. Being able to recognize it was one thing, but Tomoyo was far from understanding it. To her, a baby would mean the end of her dreams. If not an end, it would still be a delay that would make most of her goals irrelevant.

"Oh sweety, you…" Kouko could also see the happiness radiating from Yukine and worried that the young girl might be in too much of a rush to become a mother. Then again, she was eighteen now. Although still in high school, she was legally old enough to get married and have a family. Kouko had waited a long while before she had a child, but who is to say that waiting that long is right and hurrying into motherhood is wrong. _Soon she will be married to Youhei. She will have the support of the Sunohara family. Perhaps… perhaps this is right for her after all._ After thinking about how perceptive and thoughtful Yukine was, and how she put so much compassion into everything she did with her loved ones, she told the younger girl, "Yukine-chan, you are going to be a wonderful mother."

"Thank you, sensei!" Yukine blushed at the complement. Without trying to hide her desire, she asked, "I… I would be happy to carry her for a bit if you would like to rest."

"Careful sensei," Tomoyo warned, "you might never get Maiko back."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll get her back." Kouko sounded confident. She knew exactly how to soothe Yukine's yearning, "I'll bet before next year is out, Youhei and Yukine will have a baby of their own. And when they do, It would be my greatest hope that their children and my children grow up as close as cousins."

"Kouko-sensei!" Yukine gasped. A tear trailed down her cheek as she thought of how wonderful that future would be.

"All right, you two." Tomoyo turned and started walking away, "Let's get to the auditorium before somebody's best friend and somebody's little sister gets terribly disappointed."

"Fuko!" both Kouko and Yukine cried out as they followed Tomoyo's swift stride toward the auditorium.

.

 **Wednes** **day** **evening** **,** **November** **1** **0** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

Tomoya had wanted to go to the six month checkup with Kotomi and the twins, but logic had been used to deny him. Incredibly, it had been Kyou that had deployed the logic this time. She had simply stated that one of the key questions Kotomi had for the doctor on this visit was whether they should continue to breastfeed the children or stop at the six month point. So, since it was Kotomi and Kyou that were breastfeeding, and not him – he should go to his classes today and make sure to take good notes for all the classes that they were taking together. He had acquiesced after Kotomi praised Kyou for using such a sound argument in her reasoning. He didn't want to, but at that point, what else could he do?

"So, how did it go?" Tomoya asked after he set his books down. Both of the girls were relaxing on couches in the living room while the boys were on the floor happily playing with brightly colored plastic do-nut rings. The first time Tomoya had seen that toy, he had an unpleasant flashback to something that Sanae had baked. But those days were over. Nagisa's mother was back to teaching school now and only dabbled in the bakery when Tomoyo was there to… supervise.

"The boys are healthy and their development is mostly on track for their age." Kyou answered after she noticed that Kotomi seemed to be concentrating on a textbook she was reading. "As far as the breastfeeding goes, the doctor would like us to keep that up until the boys' nine month exam."

"Mostly on track?" Tomoya asked with a tinge of concern.

"They seem to be having a growth spurt." Kyou explained, "Since they were born just a little premature, they started off on the low side for length and weight. But they're already at the fifty percent point for six month old boys now."

"Fifty percent… that's average, right? Is that really something to worry about?" Tomoya asked.

"No," Kyou agreed, but she still looked troubled. "The doctor said it was still within normal growth ranges but he was more concerned about us."

"Us?" Tomoya prompted.

"Kotomi and me." Kyou clarified, "We've both grown several centimeters since we got here… and we should be past any growth spurts at our ages."

"I haven't noticed you being any taller." Tomoya commented.

"Oh?" Kyou looked at Tomoya for a moment to see if he was teasing her or if it was a genuine observation. It was only three centimeters of growth for her, so maybe it wasn't something he would notice, but… "I wonder if you're growing too?"

"I don't think so…" Tomoya stopped. He remembered just this morning thinking that his clothes were wearing differently. "Erm… you may be right. Did the doctor have any idea why?"

"She is a pediatrician so she referred us to a family doctor if we are concerned." Kyou said.

"I'm not worried about it. If we all get a little taller…" His eyes suddenly opened wide and Tomoya was laughing hard enough to disturb Kotomi from her reading.

"What?" Kyou asked. His reaction was a little annoying since she didn't see anything funny about it.

"When we go to Youhei's wedding…" Tomoya started to explain.

"Oh no!" Kyou now saw the humor instantly.

"What?" Kotomi asked.

"Youhei is already a little self-conscious about his height," Kyou explained, "When we go back to Japan for his wedding and we are all taller, he will probably have a… funny reaction."

"We will only have grown three to five centimeter's by then, do you really think he will notice?" Kotomi wondered.

"Yeah, maybe not." Kyou said, but she was thinking something completely different. _Since he's overly concerned about_ _his_ _height, he'll notice._ _Oh yes… he'll notice._

.

 **Fri** **day** **afternoon** **,** **November** **1** **9** **–** **Okazaki [Shino] residence,** **Hokkaido**

* * *

"Happy birthday, Obāsan!" Yuki chirped as she handed the small box wrapped in bright yellow paper to her grandmother.

"Let me guess," the older woman shook the box and heard nothing, "mittens?"

"Obāsan!" Yuki huffed.

"You don't like it when I guess it right," the grandmother laughed, "but it's always mittens. Every year for my birthday, since you were a little girl, you have always given me mittens for my birthday."

"I know," Yuki grumbled a little, "but I still want you to be surprised." Yuki knew it was unreasonable for her grandmother to be surprised, but this was their little ritual that they had been doing for the last ten years. "So, have you heard from Tomoya-kun?"

"Indeed I have!" the grandmother replied as she reached for a stack of envelopes on the table, "Tomoya and several of his friends have written to wish me well and thank me for having them up here last year."

"Wow," Yuki exclaimed as the pictures in the letter from Kyou spilled into her lap. She looked down to see a picture of the two baby boys grinning up at her. Wistfully she said, "So they really did have twins and he's already a father. I feel like I'm being left behind."

"Baka!" the grandmother smacked the youngster on the head with a rolled up magazine she had handy, "You don't need to be in a big hurry to grow up. Sure, it worked out for Tomoya, but he had a plan and a lot of help from his wife. But it didn't work out for his father, and it doesn't work out for a lot of people."

"But he's the same age as me and… Ouch!" Yuki started to argue and got rapped on the head again.

"He is two years older than you, and at your age that is a _huge_ difference." the grandmother insisted.

"Oh all right." Yuki grumbled and went back to looking at the letters. One of them was from the girl with the long platinum blond hair that had come to Obāsan's birthday party last year with Tomoya. She was the one that had made a huge impression on the older women of the family with her interest in learning how to cook in the local fashion and with the local produce. Glancing through the letter, she saw something that caught her attention. "Sakagami-san, says she will be going to Sapporo for college in the spring."

"That's right," Obāsan tried not to smile and give away her true feelings, "She is one of the better students at her high school and will likely be a scholarship student at Hokkaido University."

"That's where I'm going!" Yuki cried out. She couldn't believe how excited that made her. She had spoken with Sakagami Tomoyo a little when they visited last year, but not as much as the others. It wasn't that she had avoided the blond girl, it's just that Tomoyo seemed to be more interested in learning cooking techniques from the older relatives, while Yuki was more interested in… her cousin. She had insisted to her mother that her fascination was completely normal. After all, it's not every day that you find out you have a cousin that is about your own age from an uncle that you had never heard of before. On top of that, he was already married and showed up with two beautiful girls in addition to his lovely wife. Before they had arrived, she had worried that he would be a big-city player and his companions would be some kind of tough girls that would bully a country girl like her mercilessly. Her own mother had warned her not to get to close with them since they were probably trouble… like his father.

That had stunned Yuki. Her mother had said something like that about her own brother. She had seen her uncle since he had moved back to Hokkaido, and Yuki had to agree that he looked like he had been through hell. He was looking better now, but 'worn out', 'used up', and 'beat down' were all phrases that described him when he had first arrived. After seeing how rough the father looked, she hadn't been the only relative that had worried about _those kids_ coming to visit.

However, when they arrived, it was unbelievable how different they all were from the preconceptions. His wife – Kotomi-chan, was thoughtful, caring, seriously shy, and one of Japan's top geniuses. Kyou-chan, the one that stayed by Kotomi's side throughout their entire visit, was friendly, fun to talk to, and acted like an older sister – the way she was protective of Kotomi-chan. Tomoyo-chan had instantly knocked down all barriers with the older relatives with her interests in the kitchen. All three of the girls were beautiful and smart. And her cousin, Tomoya-kun… was handsome and cool.

After Tomoya and his companions had left to go home, Yuki had stormed against her mother and a few of the other relatives. They had been the ones that had driven Tomoya's father, Naoyuki away so many years ago. They had held the grudge in their hearts and made it impossible for him to come back. They were the reason she didn't get to grow up with such a cool cousin… didn't get to know him until their childhood years were all but over. Even if he hadn't move up here, they could have had summers and winters visiting each other. But there was no chance now; by the time he got back from America, it would be too late – they would be adults that never really knew each other and had little in common.

Her mother had been aghast at the fury of her daughter's attack, and the depth of her despair. She knew there hadn't been many children around her daughter's age all while she was growing up, but she never imagined the degree of loneliness the isolated child must have been facing. Much too late, she realized how much she had inadvertently hurt her own daughter, when she sent her brother away.

Obāsan too realized her folly. She had not had the courage to stand against the rest of the family all those years ago, and she had waited far too long to try and bring him back. She understood her granddaughter's anguish all too well. So many years were lost. Bonds of trust, love, and family could never be broken, because they had never been forged. To Tomoya, how could she ever be more than just an old woman that knows his father. And how could Yuki be anything more than just a girl from Hokkaido that happens to have the same last name. But now, at least there was a chance for Yuki. Tomoyo was unknowingly giving them a chance and, if Obāsan had her way, they would take that chance.

"You will be going there if you improve your grades." Obāsan chided the youngster. "The University of Hokkaido is not so easy to get into that you can become relaxed in your studies now."

"Ah!" Yuki didn't know that her grandmother had been keeping up with her grades. "Well, none of my friends were going to college, so I haven't been trying so much."

"Well, Tomoyo isn't the kind of girl that would put up with a lazy-bones that doesn't try her best." Obāsan cautioned, "If you want her to be your senpai while you're there, you had better do your best!"

"My senpai?" Yuki gaped, "Obāsan, that University is huge! We could be there at the same time for three years and never see each other."

"Oh that's right," Obāsan prepared to close the trap, "you wanted to live in the dormitories at the school and have a normal student life, didn't you?"

"Yes… why?" Yuki asked.

"Well, there were quite a few of us that liked Tomoyo when she visited, you know." Obāsan told her granddaughter, "She really impressed your Aunt Teruko. And, since Teruko-chan has a house near the university, she and I have already talked about offering to let Tomoyo take a spare room at her house to let the girl save some money."

"What?" Yuki was stunned, "I don't… um… really have my heart set on living in the dorms, you know."

"Oh really?" Obāsan tried not to smile too much and give it all away. But she wasn't finished yet either, "Then I guess you'll need to study hard next year to make sure you get accepted."

"Yes!" Yuki sounded positive, "I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you'll try," Obāsan sympathetically patted her granddaughter on the arm, "but I know how difficult it will be for you."

"Huh?" Yuki was a little shocked that her grandmother didn't think she could do it.

"Oh, I believe you're quite a smart girl, but I worry about your learning environment." Obāsan explained, "Your friends seem to be more interested in going to work or vocational schools. None of them appear to be interested in higher education. You'll be struggling on your own, without any help from other students that have similar goals of going off to college."

"Oh… yeah." Yuki would like to have defended her friends, but her grandmother was exactly right about them. Most of them would be going to work on their family farms as soon as they graduated high school. A few would be seeking some agriculture and farm management education from a local program, and one would be going to a vocational veterinary school. But none of them were planning to go to college. In a pleading voice, she said, "I'll get as much help as I can from the teacher, I guess. But, what else can I do?"

"Well, there is a private high school adjacent to the college. Your Aunt Teruko used to teach there, you know." Obāsan paused to let the girl's hopes build, "I suppose, if you asked her nicely, she might be able to see about getting you a spot there for your senior year."

"Really?" Yuki hugged her grandmother in her excitement, "Obāsan, you're the best!"

"Now listen to me child, don't think it's all a done deal!" Obāsan warned the excited teen, "You had better finish this school year off with excellent marks or that private high school won't take you."

"I will!" Yuki was eager to promise.

"And, just because you're in that school, it's not a guarantee that you will be accepted by the college. You will have to work hard there."

"I will!" Yuki promised again.

"You'll have to be a good guest." Obāsan continued, "Clean up after yourself and show proper respect to your Aunt while you are living in her house."

"Of course I will." this time Yuki felt almost offended that her Obāsan would say such a thing.

"And finally, you must be a good kohai to Tomoyo-san." Obāsan instructed, "From all that I have heard about her, she is smart but she is also quite athletic. So you should study when she wants to study, exercise with her when that is her desire, stay with her whenever you can, but leave her be if she wants to be alone."

"Obāsan, you make her sound like an idol." Yuki giggled.

"Perhaps, that is how you should think of her." Obāsan suggested, "She goes to a more prestigious high school than you do and she has better grades. She is athletic to the point that, if the stories are true, she is competent in every sport she has tried. You have seen her, so you know that she is also confident and beautiful. On top of all that, she is your cousin Tomoya's trusted, and very good friend. If you were to choose an idol to try to be like, of course I would tell you to choose her."

"She really is incredible, isn't she?" Yuki said after a moment to process everything her grandmother had just told her. It was the last part that hit the young girl the hardest. _...she is your cousin Tomoya's trusted, and very good friend._ For a moment there was a flash of jealousy as she thought of the unfairness that Tomoyo should know her cousin so well when she hadn't even known that he existed. But the moment passed. Tomoyo would be the link she would follow and in time, she too would know her cousin. "Obāsan, I promise to do my best!"

.

 **Thurs** **day** **evening** **,** **Dec** **ember** **9** **–** **City University parking lot**

* * *

"Hey there boy!" the large man drawled as he grabbed Tomoya's handlebars, "Whar do you thank you're goin on mah bike?"

"Huh?" Tomoya could barely understand the man's thick accent.

"My buddy wants to know what you think yore doin on his bike!" a second man appeared on Tomoya's left. From the corner of his eye, Tomoya could see a third thug was slightly behind him to his right. _This isn't good. I need to get away from these guys before Kyou comes out of the building._ He knew he was in a bad spot. With the karate moves he had learned in high school and from Tomoyo, he could do something if he was in the open. But the thugs had surrounded him while he was straddled on the bike and his movement was too restricted.

"Hey foo! Ahm talkin to you!" The man in front was swinging for Tomoya's face. _How much of an idiot is this guy?_ Tomoya wondered as he ducked his head and let the big fist crash into the hardened surface of the motorcycle helmet he was wearing. The man's scream followed the sickening crunch sound of fingers breaking, "ARRRGH!"

"You bastard!" the one on his left was swinging for Tomoya's chest. Tomoya moved to block and saw too late that the one on his right had a baseball bat. But the bat clattered to the ground as the body was suddenly in unanticipated motion.

 _PATHAM!_ The bat wielder was now five meters from where he had been and unmoving as he lay on the cold hard asphalt of the parking lot.

"What the hail was that?" the one to Tomoya's left hadn't seen what had taken his buddy down and, for the moment, was stunned.

"Calculus." Kyou approached the scene while reaching into her book bag for another book. She saw that the first thug was reaching to pick up the baseball bat with his good hand. Glancing at the book in her hand, she announced, "This is Texas History."

He only had his hands on the bat for a moment before feeling the impact of a cannonball into his chest. The largest of the thugs was now laid out in the parking lot not far from the other that had felt Kyou's wrath.

The last thug had been too surprised to land the blow he had been setting up for. Tomoya took that opportunity to make a tight elbow swing into the thugs gaping jaw. It didn't incapacitate him, but it did knock him back and give Tomoya a chance to get off the motorcycle.

"Calculus and Texas History?" Tomoya said as he closed on the last of the thugs, "I thought you always threw dictionaries?"

"I took a lesson from the sociology class we're taking: diversification is good." Kyou wondered if she should help Tomoya with the last guy but she could see that he was getting into a good stance and he probably needed to blow off some steam anyway. "If you've got this, I'll go get my books back."

"Oh yeah, this shouldn't be any trouble. Go ahead." Tomoya was looking forward to this, now that it was a fair fight.

"You muthaf…" the remaining thug started to yell, but the palm of Tomoya's right hand smashed into the thug's jaw causing him to bite off a chunk of his own tongue.

"No foul language in front of the lady." Tomoya insisted.

"Thuck my di… AIIEEEEE!" the increasingly battered thug screamed. Tomoya had feinted to one side then hit the lower jaw from the other side as hard as he could. It had been effective in shutting him up as the blow dislocated the jaw on one side.

Foolishly, the punk lunged and swung at Tomoya in his rage instead of realizing he was up against someone trained in martial arts. It was no problem at all for Tomoya to use the punk's body as a weight, the arm as a lever, and the elbow as a fulcrum in that situation. There was a snapping sound and the thug was now looking at his arm bent in an entirely new direction. Even with the prodigious amount of illegal drugs in his blood, this much pain was too much and he finally passed out.

"Tomoya, that was a bit brutal, wasn't it?" Kyou asked as she got to the bike with her books back in her book bag.

"I misjudged his weight." Tomoya admitted as he climbed back onto the bike.

"Should we call somebody?" Kyou asked as she hopped on the seat behind him and put her arms around his chest… to hold on.

"I'll tell the cops at the gate." Tomoya promised.

.

 **Thurs** **day** **evening** **,** **Dec** **ember** **9** **–** **Houston** **residence**

* * *

"Ah, you're home!" Kotomi called out as her husband and dearest friend came in from the garage. Excitedly, she asked, "How did you do? How are your grades?"

"We did good," Kyou told Kotomi, "Of course these aren't the official grades. They only told us this much because they knew we were leaving for Japan tomorrow."

"Yes?" Kotomi was excited to hear what their grades were, nonetheless.

"I got a 'B' in English and an 'A' in everything else." Kyou said proudly.

"I got a 'B' in English and Calculus, and an 'A' in everything else." Tomoya wasn't upset about being bested by Kyou at all. He knew that she was a smart girl and had much better study habits than him. In fact, if it hadn't been for her helping him in all of the classes that they had together, she probably would have had an 'A' in all of her classes.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" Kotomi was thrilled that their first real semester had ended so successfully. "I'm so happy for both of you!"

"How did you do?" Tomoya asked his ecstatic wife.

"Wait! Let me guess… you aced all your classes, right?" Kyou smirked.

"I don't know." Kotomi's cheer turned into confusion when she realized that she had forgotten to ask her professors about her grades. "After I finished my exams, I went to the lab to work on the project. I'm sorry I don't have any good grades to tell you about."

"It's okay," Tomoya hugged his forgetful wife and patted her head, "I think it's safe to assume that you passed all your classes."

"There should be a reward for passing all the classes." Kotomi suggested as she looked up into Tomoya's eyes.

"How about a kiss?" Tomoya barely got the words out before Kotomi went up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his. Lips met lips and tongues caressed while they held each other. Tomoya moaned as the stress from the earlier fight with the thugs melted under the heat from Kotomi's passion. Like the phrase still waters run deep, Kotomi's distant and aloof exterior masked a passion that burned like the white hot magma that flowed underneath Japan's many volcanoes. Tomoya had been surprised many times at the beginning of their relationship by her sudden and intense displays of affection, but he was more used to them now. But, being use to it didn't mean it was boring. More like - a volcanologist that gets used to walking along the edge of an active volcano is still aware that he is on the precipice of an inferno. And, like the volcanoes, Kotomi's passionate eruptions could be quite spectacular.

Kyou looked up from her book bag to see the two lover's hot embrace. She only saw them for a moment before she felt her face flush with embarrassment. _Dammit Kotomi! How can you do that so openly? I can barely stand it when we're in the privacy of our bedroom and the lights are still on. Why… why can't I be more like you?_ But embarrassment wasn't the only thing making her face red. Feeling a little jealous about being left out, she moved up next to the entangled couple and pouted, "I passed all my classes too, you know."

"Oh yes, congratulations Kyou-chan!" Kotomi said breathlessly as she pulled her arms from Tomoya's neck and wrapped them around Kyou.

"Eh?" Kyou didn't have time to think of what Kotomi could mean by her abrupt move before she was suddenly being kissed by the genius girl. "MMMMMMMF!" Kyou cried out into Kotomi's mouth while her eyes opened wide and looked past swirls of purple hair to an equally shocked Tomoya. _No! This is too much!_ Kotomi was hanging onto her too tight and her lips were intense. _Her body is so warm and soft and… Oh no! I'm actually enjoying kissing Kotomi! I can't let her get me caught up in her rhythm… I just can't!_ _Tomoya, why aren't you stopping her? Why are you letting this happen to me? Why…_

Tomoya watched the two girls kiss and was too stunned to do anything at first. When he got his wits about him, he was about to try to pull Kotomi away when he saw the change in Kyou. She was no longer fighting, no longer struggling. Tears were trailing down her cheeks, but they were in contrast to the arms that held Kotomi as tight as she was being held. He could see that her eyes were closed now, no longer open wide in panic – no longer calling for help. The soft mewling sounds she was making spoke of pleasure that she didn't want to accept.

"Kyou, it's okay." Tomoya tried to assure her. He could tell that she was afraid of something. He didn't know what it was exactly, but he wanted her to know that, no matter what happened, she was not alone.

 _No Tomoya, you can't tell me that! It's not okay! Why won't you ever listen to me? Why doesn't Kotomi ever understand? It's wrong for me to know such love! It's wrong for me to be with you! I'm so stupid… even with everything you've given me, I want… I want you to love me like you love her._

"I love you Kyou." Tomoya kissed the back of Kyou's neck as he trailed his fingers down her slender back and through her long lavender hair.

How he touched her and what he said… shocked Kyou like an electric jolt. In her mind's eye, she was on a cliff above a vast abyss. One foot was already off the ledge and she was poised to take the other step… _But why? It's scary. I don't know what will happen to me. I've only been able to hang onto a resemblance of my old self by the thinnest thread._ _They want me to step off into this… this what? Is it oblivion? Is it love? What will become of me?_ Kyou noticed that Tomoya was now holding her right hand while Kotomi was holding her left. Tomoya was kissing her neck near her ear which sent shivers up and down her spine. There was something she wanted to ask them but there was barely time for a breath when Kotomi broke off the kiss and Tomoya captured Kyou's wet lips with his own. _How? How can you accept someone like me? How can you… love me?_

"Kyou-chan," Kotomi continued to hug her friend while Tomoya was kissing her, "I'm so happy now! Please re-assure me! Tell me that you'll always be by my side. Promise me that you'll never leave me! I'm so afraid sometimes, Kyou-chan. Please, even if it's a lie, tell me that you'll never leave me, Kyou-chan!"

"Kotomi…" Kyou panted for air both from having kissed for so long and from the arousal that these two were awakening within her, "Kotomi-chan, I told you before. I wasn't lying then and I'm not lying now. I will never choose to leave you. Some day, when you tire of me, you may send me away. But I swear that I'll never leave you."

"Oh Kyou-chan!" Kotomi squeezed her friend even tighter as she reveled in her happiness.

"Kiss me…" Kyou pleaded as she looked up at Tomoya, "Kiss me again."

Tomoya said nothing but met the eager lips and kissed the lavender haired girl with all his heart.

 _Why? Why can I tell her that I'll never leave her and not accept their love… not completely anyway. Why can't I just let go._ Kyou was no longer afraid of the fall, but there was still resistance to take that last step… into the abyss.


	32. Chapter 32 - Angry Ryou

**Sun** **day** **early** **morning** **,** **December** **1** **2** **–** **Ichinose** **residence**

* * *

Tomoyo's schedule was not as intense on a Sunday as it was during the school week, which was good since she now had a house full of people. Even though Tomoya and all the others had arrived yesterday afternoon, they were all fatigued with jet lag and still in bed, so Tomoyo decided to enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasted. She had been trying to relax more and not be as worried or stressed out as she had been since the beginning of the school year. Recent developments helped with the stressful situations in her life, but telling her body and mind to calm down was a different matter.

Ever since getting the unexpected offer to live at an Okazaki relatives house while she would be attending the University in Hokkaido, a lot of her worries had ceased to be real concerns. Her family, having realized that they couldn't force her to their will, suddenly started acting nice and said they would take care of her college expenses. Although she thanked them, she still accepted the Okazaki Obāsan's offer. Her own family had never been all that reliable or trustworthy, so she chose a path that didn't rely on them. Her own future was looking a little less stressful now, but there were still things that concerned her.

Sometimes, relaxing meant putting on running shoes and stretching her legs. Tomoyo was hoping to clear her mind with a peaceful run through the early morning streets and, perhaps a visit to the Furukawa Bakery. The thought of seeing Akio and visiting the Bakery had already put her in a better frame of mind as she stepped out from the warmth of the house into the brisk December morning air.

"Hey." a voice surprised her from behind her and to the left. She reacted instantly: there was a blur of motion and her foot stopped only millimeters away from Tomoya's nose. "HEY!" Tomoya was thankful that Tomoyo recognized him before it was too late. _She's so fast, I never even had a chance to get a block up. I'm glad those thugs in the parking lot weren't anything like her._

"I thought you were still in bed." Tomoyo said as she pulled her foot back from Tomoya's face and lowered her leg back down.

"I couldn't get back to sleep after the boys last feeding." Tomoya shrugged, "I thought I might go for a run."

"That's what I'm here for." Tomoyo asked while leaning into her pre-run stretches, "Can you run and talk?"

"Sure," Tomoya had been running about ten kilometers in the mornings, for a while now. He would run through the large park near Kotomi's university, although he usually ran alone. He knew he should be able to keep up a conversation through the first five kilometers but he would be struggling after that. "How far did you plan to run?"

"Just twenty kilometers this morning." Tomoyo said, "I want to stop at the Furukawa Bakery and bring a few things back for breakfast and lunch."

 _Gulp!_ "Twenty kilometers?" Tomoya groaned. He hadn't forgotten how athletic Tomoyo was, but to have her toss out twenty kilometers like it was a walk around the block was a bit ego-deflating.

"Fifteen kilometers?" Tomoyo offered - after she could see that Tomoya was clearly not confident about running twenty kilometers.

"Uh…" Tomoya didn't want to ruin Tomoyo's morning run and was about to suggest that they just run separately when she came up with another plan.

"I know." Tomoyo suggested, "There is a good five kilometer run that will end up at the Furukawa Bakery. After that, you can bring the purchases back while I finish my run."

"Okay," Tomoya eagerly agreed, "let's do that."

"This way." Tomoyo called out as she launched off the back porch and started running up the street.

The pace was a little quick for Tomoya, but he decided it would be good to challenge himself and fell into step beside the platinum blond.

"So, you couldn't get back to sleep. But what about the others?" Tomoyo asked.

"The girls are still pretty tired, so they went back down after the boys were done." Tomoya replied.

"Girls?" Tomoyo asked, "Kyou is helping with feeding the babies then?"

"Uh… yeah." Tomoya wasn't sure how to answer that. It was true that both of the boys had been taking solid foods for about a month, in addition to breastfeeding, so he asked her, "Do you want to try feeding them?"

"No thanks." Tomoyo wasn't nearly so enamored with babies as other girls, but a smile came to her lips as she thought of someone that was, "Does Yukine know you're back in town yet?"

.

 **Sun** **day** **early** **morning** **,** **December** **1** **2** **–** **Furukawa Bakery**

* * *

The sun was coming up as the two ran through small parks and streets together. The air was cold and crisp, but it felt good after the first kilometer when their bodies started to warm up. It was one of those mornings without anything up in the sky. The whole blue dome overhead gradually changed from a deep dark blue to lighter shades without the interruptions of clouds. As the light became brighter and the colors became more vivid, Tomoya started to recognize places that had been important to him as they ran past.

Tomoya had a pleasant chat with his girlfriend from the previous school year, as they covered the first three kilometers. By the time he finished the fourth kilometer, he could hear what Tomoyo had to say, but he could only grunt monosyllabic answers between pants. When they finished the fifth kilometer, Tomoya collapsed against the metal shutters in front of the Furukawa Bakery and could only breathe in great gasps of air.

"I thought you could handle five kilometers?" Tomoyo sounded disappointed, but also concerned.

"I can… it's just… I forgot…" Tomoya stopped talking for a moment to better catch his breath, "I forgot about the hills. Houston is flat as a pancake. In every direction. As far as the eyes can see… it's all flat. Running in hills… is harder."

"Hey, what's going on out here?" a loud voice bellowed from behind Tomoyo. When Akio saw Tomoya leaning against the bakery's storefront and gasping for air, he laughed hard. "So, you're back in town brat? Don't expect any parades, kid. All the people that liked you are still out of town."

Tomoya was about to tell Nagisa's old man that he knew that Nagisa and Ryou were not yet back from their university, when a sing-song voice came charging out of the bakery door.

"Tomoya-kun! It's so good to see you again." Sanae rushed past her husband and Tomoyo to give Tomoya an affectionate welcoming hug. Then she hung onto his arm as she asked him, "I've been hoping for a handsome young man to come shopping with me for Nagisa's birthday present. Please tell me you can spare a little time for me?"

"Hey, waitaminit!" Akio blustered, "I'm handsome too."

"Um… sure, Sanae." Tomoya blushed. He had forgotten how exuberant Sanae could be sometimes. "I can go later today if you want."

"Oh how wonderful!" Sanae squealed, "It's a date then!"

"A date? With him? But… I'm handsome too, right Sanae?" Akio waved his arms to try and get his wife's attention.

"I'm sorry for jumping in like that Tomoyo-chan," Sanae said while still holding onto Tomoya's arm, "but I just knew that if I didn't get Tomoya to give me some time soon, you three girls would just gobble him all up!"

"It is true that this winter break will likely be my last chance to see him for the next four or five years," Tomoyo said sadly, "but he is a well liked person and I know that there will be a lot of other people vying for his time."

"Yeah," Sanae suddenly felt guilty for snatching as much as an afternoon of Tomoya's time away from Tomoyo. Both she and Akio had become close to the platinum blond over the last year and they both knew how sad she had been when he had left for America after his high school graduation. There had been times when she was helping in the bakery – her movements controlled, her demeanor calm, and her face placid, but a single tear could be seen rolling down her cheek. Over time she was better, but she was never completely over him. They knew how much she still had feelings for him too. The elder Furukawa's had seen how excited Tomoyo was when she found out when he would be coming back for this visit.

"Anyway brat, you better go running with Tomoyo every day you're back." Akio snipped, "You've gotten soft while you were away."

"Oh really, old man… and how often do you go running with her?" Tomoya fired back. But he could tell by all of their reactions that he should not have asked that question.

"He runs with me Tuesday and Thursday nights, and Saturday mornings." Tomoyo said softly.

"Only to ten kilometers." Akio admitted, "I can't hang with her when she runs twenty or more."

"Ah… then you're right." Tomoya said to Akio as he accepted his defeat. Then he turned to Tomoyo and bowed as he said, "If you have the time for me, it looks like you'll be training me every morning. Please take care of me."

"Yes, I'll do what I can." Tomoyo blushed. Besides running through the streets, she wondered if there would be any other opportunities to be alone with her... boyfriend? _That's right! He is still my boyfriend… or at least, I am still his girlfriend._ She remembered standing under the big tree in the high school courtyard and telling Tomoya that she would be his girlfriend until Kotomi told her that she couldn't any more. _And Kotomi has told me no such thing._ With a feeling of being renewed, she told everyone, "I'm going to finish my run. Akio-san, please make sure he takes home enough for everyone's breakfast and lunch today!"

"I will." Akio was able to say before the girl was already at the end of the block and moving away at a greater speed than she had run the first five kilometers with Tomoya.

Tomoya's face ran white as he saw what kind of speed she was capable of when not encumbered with someone like him tagging along. _If that's her normal speed, does that mean…_

"Don't worry brat, she never runs that fast when she's with me either." Akio winked.

.

 **Wednes** **day** **e** **ve** **ning** **,** **December** **2** **2** **–** **Hikarizaka Train Station**

* * *

The clear skies and crisp air didn't last long. Within ten days of their initial run to the bakery, the weather had changed drastically. It wasn't truly a lot colder than it had been, it just felt that way. The previous crisp dry air had given way to sporadic rains and drizzles for the last several days and it was always humid – even when it wasn't raining. There seemed to always be a gray blanket of clouds except for the rare occasions when there was a break and a patch of bright blue sky could be seen for a minute or two. But not today.

Everything felt miserably cold and wet, and the skies had been a dull to dark gray all day, but it wasn't until the last hour that the clouds had finally opened up and started raining. Akio looked through the windows of the bakery's delivery truck at the almost monochromatic gray world around him. He wished that it could have been a little colder and this could be a bunch of pretty snowflakes to greet his daughters instead of cold rain. _My daughters!_ Akio chuckled. _It's amazing to me how easily I've accepted their relationship. I guess I was always scared of what might happen to Nagisa's health if she had a normal relationship with a guy._ Akio shivered. His little girl had been healthy ever since the purple haired genius had predicted that there should be no more of the strange episodes, and he was glad about that. However, although it looked like Kotomi's reasoning had been right so far, he had watched his little girl grow up for two decades with the constant fear that another one of her unexplained illnesses was just around the corner. Despite wanting to believe in Kotomi very badly, it was difficult to let go of that kind of anxiety.

"Ah!" Akio's worries mostly evaporated when he saw his wife emerge from the train station doors with Nagisa and Ryou. They were wearing warm hats and long coats, but he recognized them instantly. Akio quickly started the engine and turned the heater up while the three women walked carefully under umbrellas through the rain. Shivering from the cold, the girls quickly threw their suitcases in and climbed into the back seat of the truck to huddle together.

"Oooooh, it's so cold!" Nagisa squealed while she leaned into Ryou to try to feel some of her girlfriend's warmth.

Akio's heart skipped a beat and there was a moment of panic but he felt his wife's reassuring hand on his arm and saw her smile.

"She's fine." Sanae said quietly from the passenger seat beside him, "It's winter. We're all cold right now. Thanks for turning the heater on."

"When will Kyou and the others get in from America?" Ryou asked while she huddled for warmth with Nagisa in the back seat.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Sanae told her, "They have been back for over a week."

"WHAT?" Ryou gaped. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She hasn't called you?" Sanae asked in disbelief.

"Well… she called at the beginning of last week, but we had to cut the conversation short because Nagisa and I were studying for exams." Ryou had a sudden realization.

"Yeah," Akio said, "that's about when they got here."

"She… she didn't call me back." Ryou sounded disillusioned.

"Did you call her back?" Nagisa asked.

"Well no." Ryou admitted. _But she's the Onee-chan, she should have called me back!_

"It's not too late you know… we can stop by their house on the way home." Akio suggested.

"I don't know if I want to see Onee-chan right now." Ryou pouted.

"They brought the babies with them, and they're so cute!" Sanae mentioned with a knowing smile.

 _Whirffle…_ Nagisa made an unusually cute sound that caused Ryou to look up to see her pleading expression.

"Yeah, let's go see the babies." Ryou agreed and immediately felt Nagisa's thankful hug. Even if Ryou had been incensed with her sister, there was no way she would be able to deny Nagisa when she was being _that_ cute.

"Do you think Kotomi will let us hold them?" Nagisa asked with excitement.

"Unless they're asleep, she should." Sanae said, "I was able to rock Shuji to sleep the other day and it was so nice."

"Awwww!" Nagisa and Ryou both moaned at the image in their minds and the hopefulness that they would get the chance to do that as well. Ryou had completely forgotten about being upset with her sister and was now looking forward to seeing the babies and… maybe getting a chance to hold one of them too.

Sanae smiled across to Akio. She had told him this would work. For these two girls, or even for most girls, the lure of getting to hold or rock a baby to sleep was undeniable.

.

 **Wednes** **day** **e** **ve** **ning** **,** **December** **2** **2** **–** **Ichinose residence**

* * *

Nagisa and Ryou had been over to the Ichinose house during the summer to visit Tomoyo, so they didn't feel as if they hadn't been there in a long time, like Kotomi and Kyou did. What did surprise them was seeing Koumura greet them in the entryway. They had heard that he had become the Ichinose butler in Houston, but to actually see him in the role was an odd feeling.

With his eyes seemingly closed and his mouth all but hidden under his thick mustache, it should have been difficult to tell what kind of mood he was in, but these were all people that had known him before and they could tell that, behind the thick gray mustache, he was indeed smiling.

"Welcome Fujibayashi-san and Furukawa-san." Koumura said, "Allow me to take your coats."

"Th-thank you, Koumura-san." Ryou stammered a bit from the strangeness, but not from the cold. The walk from the car to the house had indeed been very cold, but once they were inside, the big house was nice and warm. The house slippers that were arrayed for their use were warm hand-sewn furry moccasins that had been brought back from America.

"Oh, aren't these nice slippers." Ryou was commenting as they emerged into the large living room, festively decorated with balloons and ribbons. Nagisa was about to reply when she was surprised by a sudden shout.

"Happy Birthday, Nagisa!" a chorus of voices cheered out from the room to the arriving guests.

"Ah! A startled Nagisa gasped. _But it's not my birthday yet._ She was about to say, but she was aware that they all knew that. With a birthday on Christmas Eve, only once had she ever really had a party with friends – and it was these friends.

Besides Tomoya, Kotomi, and Ryou's sister – there were several other's there as well. Kouko and Yoshino were there with the ikiryo of her little sister sitting in Kouko's lap. Youhei was standing next to an exceedingly happy looking Yukine who was holding a very small baby… too small to be one of the Okazaki boys!

"Nagisa-chan!" Fuko jumped up from her sister's lap and ran across the room to give her friend a hug

"Yukine-chan…" Ryou was about to ask the same thing Nagisa was thinking when she remembered that Kouko had recently had a baby too. "...is that Yoshino-san's daughter?"

"Yes," Yukine beamed, "isn't she just beautiful!" The little girl that Yukine protectively held in her arms had several wisps of reddish-brown hair a little lighter than her mother's and the blue eyes like her father. Her small fists were balled up and waving about as she gazed up at all the people looking at her.

"Do you remember Fuko?" Fuko asked as she looked up into Nagisa's loving brown eyes.

"Of course I do, Fuko-chan." Nagisa patted the short ikiryo friend's dark brown hair and wanted to say more reassuring things to her, but she couldn't. Her attention was on the baby girl in Yukine-chan's arms. Like a small planetoid being pulled in by the inescapable gravity of a fiery star, Nagisa's focus was trapped in the orbit of the infant in front of her. Ryou could feel Nagisa's desire raging like a bonfire that had gone out of control.

"Yukine-chan, do you think…" Ryou was about to ask if Nagisa could hold the baby for a bit but was suddenly speechless when her sister grabbed her and held her in a close hug.

"Ryou, I've missed you so much!" Kyou had thought that she would be able to keep her sisterly feelings under control, but it had been too much for her. She had never been apart from her twin sister for so long before, and months of separation had overwhelmed her. Even though she had several familiar faces with her in America, the one face that had been with her all of her life had been missing.

"Onee-chan, I…" There was so much Ryou wanted to say, but it was all lost in colliding emotions. She too had felt the awful loneliness of being so far from the sister that had always been by her side. Irrational parts of her wanted to demand why Kyou had chosen to be so far away. Other concerns had their questions: _Are you still in love with Tomoya? Are you doing well in your classes? Did you miss me? Are you still okay with Kotomi? What is it like in America? Do you ever think of me while you're over there?_ But the only thing that came out before a flood of pent up tears was, "I miss you too!"

Nagisa worried that maybe she should comfort Ryou, but the crying didn't sound so much like anguish as it did happiness. While she was trying to decide if she should interrupt Ryou from crying on her sister, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Nagisa-chan," Tomoya and Kotomi stood next to each other. Each of them had an infant in their arms and both of them were wearing dango themed jumpers. Tomoya held the Brown haired baby with eyes as bright and blue as Ryou's. He was wearing a pastel yellow jumper festooned with bouncing dango's all over. From the pictures she had been sent, Nagisa knew that this was the younger twin, Shuji. That meant that the boy in Kotomi's arms was the elder twin Shuichi. His eyes were closed at the moment, but his steel blue hair easily identified him as Tomoya's son. He was wearing a pastel green jumper with dango's drawn to look like they were rolling all over the garment. At first, she wondered where they had been able to find such odd clothing, but as she looked at them, she had the feeling that they were oddly familiar.

"May I…" Nagisa crossed her hands over her heart with the excitement that she might hold one of these beautiful babies in her own arms.

"Nagisa-chan," Kotomi said.

"Um… Kotomi-chan?" Nagisa almost forgot the way to start a conversation with Kotomi in the daze she was starting to enter while looking at the cute dangos on the precious babies.

"Shuichi is still asleep. Would you like to hold Shuji?" Kotomi offered.

"Yes… please… I would… thank you!" Nagisa tripped over her words as Tomoya carefully handed over his youngest son and showed his elated friend how to properly and safely hold the child. Despite following Tomoya's instructions, she almost dropped little Shuji when she heard Ryou cry out.

"Ah! Why… why is my shirt all wet? What is this?" Ryou knew that it wasn't water. It was sticky between the fingers, but it was the wrong color for blood. She was also confused trying to figure out where it came from. She had only been hugging her older sister and, sure – she had been crying, but not _that_ much!

"No…" Kyou's hands splattered against her own chest and she could feel that her bra and shirt were completely soaked through.

"Onee-chan?" Ryou reached out for her sister who now looked horrified about something. "What?"

"No!" Kyou turned and fled the living room. In a moment, she was up the stairs and behind the safety of the bedroom door.

"Onee-chan!" A very concerned Ryou started to follow after her sister, but she stopped when Tomoya called out to her.

"Ryou-chan!" Tomoya knew he shouldn't be the one to have this conversation with Ryou, but Kyou's flight left him little choice, "It is breast milk."

"Huh?" Ryou was puzzled until her fingers moved close to her nose and she could smell the sticky liquid. "How… how is that possible?"

"Through the use of chemicals, hormones, and herbs; Kyou-chan is helping with feeding the babies." Kotomi answered before Tomoya could intervene.

"WHAT!" Ryou shouted in anger and disbelief, "My Onee-chan chose to do something like that?"

Tomoya could not return her gaze, much less give her a satisfactory answer to her question.

"It was a gift." Kotomi tried to explain.

"A gift?" Ryou was repulsed by what she was hearing. They weren't giving her clear answers to her questions and Tomoya looked extremely guilty about something. _They… they did something to my sister! I thought they were best of friends. I thought they trusted each other. What the hell is going on here?_

"Ryou, I…" Tomoya started to apologize but was cut off.

"I don't want to hear it. Not now! I need to talk to my sister." Ryou looked at Kotomi and Tomoya with unrestrained fury, "Okazaki… I hold _you_ responsible."

"I… yes." Tomoya accepted the burden as Ryou turned and ran up the stairs to follow her sister.

"Well, I want to know what's going on." Kouko said.

"Me too," Akio sounded upset as well. After all, he tended to think of Ryou as one of his daughters now – so if someone upset her, they had some explaining to do. "What the hell did you guys do to Kyou-chan?"

Everyone was looking at Tomoya, so they were surprised when Kotomi was the one to speak up.

"No-one should blame Tomoya-kun. This was entirely my fault." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she faced her friends. Tomoya had tried to explain to her before why it was wrong to do what she had done. Her logic had been sound however, and she had not believed that his concerns were so devastating. After all, hadn't Kyou-chan chosen to accept the gift in the end? And wasn't she now happy that she was able to enjoy the closeness that breastfeeding engendered with the children?

But now it was different. Now, she was surrounded by all the people that she had become friends with in the last year and they were all looking at her. Even with her poor social skills, she could tell that they now saw her with disdain, fear, revulsion, and even contempt. Tomoya's warnings of last summer were hitting her now. Still not understanding why it was so bad, she now knew that she had done something so terrible that she could lose all of her friends. She would go back to being… alone.

"No…" Kotomi passed Shuichi to Tomoya and dropped to the carpeted floor of the living room. "I'm sorry!" she cried as she leaned forward until her face was almost on the floor. "I'm so sorry," Kotomi's hands were on the floor in front of her face as she knelt in a full saekerei before all of her friends.

Many of the friends blushed and turned away as they watched their friend express such regret. But none of them could think of anything to say.

"Sanae," Tomoya moved to hand Shuichi over to Nagisa's mother and join his wife on the floor when he heard Kotomi's crying voice again.

"I didn't know it was wrong. I'm so sorry!" Kotomi begged, "Please forgive me. Please…"

.

Kyou had taken off her clothes and was sitting under the shower handle, letting the hot water rain on her head and run down her body. Rivulets of water mixed with tears and breast milk, dripped from her body into puddles on the floor before disappearing down the drain. _It shouldn't have happened! I had just fed the boys only an hour ago. I should have been dry. Certainly, I shouldn't have had enough to soak both of our shirts like that. Why? What must Ryou think of me now? I'm such an idiot!_

"Onee-chan?" Ryou hugged her sister from behind. She had already taken off her own clothes when she saw that her sister was sitting under the shower head in the master bathroom. They had always taken baths with each other, so she reasoned that this shouldn't be too unusual. However, she could feel Kyou tense up under her gentle touch.

"Ryou… you must think I've lost my mind." The tears came again as she put her own trembling fingers on her sister's comforting hand.

"No." Ryou tried to sound supportive but her deep concern was plainly evident, "It sounds like they did this to you without your knowledge. Are they… are they forcing you to do this?"

"It was just Kotomi. Tomoya knew nothing about it." Kyou defended the man she still loved, "When he found out, he was livid."

"Oh?" Ryou wanted to believe Kyou but she knew how much her sister loved Tomoya and wondered if she might be making excuses for him a little too much.

"He yelled at her and was going to take me to a doctor to undo what Kotomi had done." Kyou remembered the yelling she could hear through the walls back when Tomoya had taken Kotomi to another room to _explain things_ to her. "In the end, I told him I didn't want to undo it."

"Huh? Why not?" Ryou found it hard to believe this, but her sister's demeanor hadn't changed and it sounded like she was still telling her the truth.

"When you see it, you'll understand." Kyou told her younger sister, "As emotionless as Kotomi sometimes seems to be, I could see a connection being built at the deepest levels between her and the boys. Only once have I ever seen such a strong bond of trust and love. I wanted to have something like that too. Kotomi wants the boys to have the same kind of connection with me that they have with her. I want that too, and I… I wanted to see if the bond was as strong as… ours."

"Eh?" Ryou felt her heart pound a little stronger in her chest.

"I feel connected to Tomoya and even to Kotomi, and the connections are strong too. But the way I feel connected to you is different." Kyou tried to explain it, "Probably because it's a different kind of love, I guess. But just because it's different – it doesn't mean it's not as good. In fact, the bond to you feels stronger than anything I feel for anyone else."

 _Onee-chan, you have no idea how happy it makes me feel to hear you say that!_

"And now that I've been breastfeeding the boys for a half a year, I feel the same kind of strong bond with them too." Kyou was finally smiling again. "Every time I hold one of my boys in my arms, I feel..."

"Kotomi-chan's boys." Ryou interjected.

"What?" Kyou looked up from the puddles of water at her feet.

"You said my boys, but they are Kotomi-chan's boys." Ryou insisted, "They're also Tomoya-kun's boys, but they're not yours. Onee-chan, you have to remember that."

"Why?" Kyou found herself repeating some of Kotomi's logic, "What is so wrong with me thinking of them as mine too? I'm helping to raise them. They are going to grow up calling me Mama or Okāsan just like Kotomi. So why can't I think of them as mine?"

"Onee-chan… because they're not yours!" an exasperated Ryou told her older sister, "Tomoya-kun is married to Kotomi-chan, not you. He is the one having sex with her, not you. She is the one having his children, not you. Those children belong to them, not to you!"

 _Well, your facts are mostly right little sister._ Kyou thought, but chose not to say anything.

"Seriously, Onee-chan… it's almost sounding like you're being brainwashed or hypnotized or something." Ryou looked at her older sister in amazement and worry.

"No no, nothing like that." Kyou said reassuringly. _But, maybe I am being exposed to another way of thinking._ _As Kotomi pointed out in many of our discussions on this point, just because I believe in something that differs from the mainstream of society, it doesn't make me wrong. It just means that I'm different, and there is nothing wrong with being different._

"It's good to see that you are feeling better." Tomoyo's voice came from the door to the bath. "I brought you some clean blouses to wear. I believe Ryou should be able to fit into one of Kyou's smaller bra's."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ryou asked, "My breasts have always been bigger than Onee-chan's."

"Not anymore. Both of you stand up." Tomoyo waited until they were both standing side by side before telling Ryou the bad news, "Kyou is not only larger in the chest now, she is also several centimeters taller than you."

"What!" Ryou gaped as she looked back and forth between her body and her sister's, "How… how did this happen?"

"From what I've been hearing downstairs, I would guess it has something to do with the nutrient rich meals and supplements Kyou has been eating to promote healthier breast milk." Tomoyo said.

"So, she's telling everyone what she did?" Kyou felt sorry for making a big deal out of it all, but it had been so unexpected and terribly embarrassing.

"No, Kotomi passed out when she went into a full saekerei to beg for forgiveness." Tomoyo told the shocked twins.

"What!" Kyou yelped, "Is she okay now?"

"Tomoyo moved her to the couch, but she was still out when I came upstairs to look in on you."

"No!" Kyou threw on a bath Yukata and ran out of the room.

"I can't believe she's still concerned over Kotomi after what was done to her." Ryou said with a trace of jealousy.

"And yet, she will have no regrets." Tomoyo said while still facing the door.

"What Kotomi did was wrong." Ryou misunderstood Tomoyo's intent and thought she was agreeing with the platinum blond.

"It was, and she has begged forgiveness from everyone." Tomoyo turned to Ryou and said, "But I was talking about you."

"Eh?" Ryou looked at Tomoyo's expressionless face in puzzlement.

"What you said in anger downstairs has already fractured many lines of friendship." Tomoyo explained, "No-one agrees with what Kotomi did to your sister, but I can already see sides being taken. The Yoshino's will side with Kotomi because of Youhei's connection to Tomoya. The Furukawa's will side with you because of Nagisa." _And I will be ripped apart between my love of Tomoya and for the Furukawa family._

"Ah!" Ryou didn't want to believe that all of their friendships could fall apart so easily, but she had been truly furious when she had stormed up the stairs after her sister. She could remember many times when her own father and sister weren't on speaking terms after an emotional blow-up, and they had the bonds of family holding them together. "So... you think I should forgive Kotomi-chan too?"

"No, not if you still feel the same way. Do not waver if your convictions are just. There can be regret in that too." Tomoyo said, "But, if you do feel differently after talking it over with your sister, you don't have much time to avert disaster."

For the briefest moment, Ryou thought of being inflexible. But it wouldn't have been for Kyou's sake if she had. It was clear that her sister believed in what she was doing, even if other people didn't fully understand it. Even if she didn't understand it.

For most of her life, Ryou had been the peacemaker in the house. She would bring her father and sister together again after a great mistake or misunderstanding. Now, she would need to bring peace to herself. Her jealousy wanted nothing more than to drive a wedge between Kyou and... anybody else but her. _No, I could never be that petty. I would die from guilt if I did that. Why did I run off and not listen to anyone. It's not like me… it's not! I need to be a better person for Onee-chan, for Nagisa, and… for me. I need to accept… to accept that school is over now, and we do have separate lives to lead._

"Tomoyo-chan," Ryou asked as she started to tear up, "I've made a terrible mistake. I need to apologize to everyone. Will you help me?"

"I will." Tomoyo was glad that Ryou had made that decision, but she barred the purple haired girl from the door, "But first, you should put some clothes on."

.

 **Satur** **day** **evening** **,** **December** **2** **5** **–** **Center shopping district**

* * *

There was a section of the central shopping district where the street's opened up a bit. Long ago, there had been a narrow building there, but it had fallen into ruin and been demolished before Tomoya had been born. Now, it was a paved area that served as the starting point for parades and the place where they erected the Christmas tree. It wasn't that Hikarizaka was a particularly religious area, more like the merchants really appreciated the boost in sales that this time of year, the tree, and some lights could bring to their stores.

Tomoya and Tomoyo sat in a coffee and cake shop across from the lit tree and stared at the pretty lights through the big window. It was cool in the shop so they sat close and held hands while gazing at the well lit street.

"My dad is so pissed-off." Tomoyo chuckled.

"At what?" Tomoya asked.

"At me… and you." Tomoyo answered.

"Me?" Tomoya didn't remember ever meeting the man.

"He knows how disgusted I am with him for running around, screwing everything in a skirt and ruining our family." Tomoyo explained, "So, after everybody made up at Nagisa's birthday party, I called him to tell him the truth about our relationship."

"Oh no," Tomoya tried to imagine that conversation, "I'm guessing he didn't take it that well."

"No, he didn't. He said I was a hypocrite for hating him for the kind of person he is, and then going out with a guy that was just like him." Tomoyo said as she sipped some of her warm coffee.

"Ouch." Tomoya recoiled.

"I told him that you two are completely different." Tomoyo reassured him, "You're really nothing alike at all."

"How so?" Tomoya asked.

"Well, for one thing… I see you as a man." Tomoyo said.

"Ouch!" Tomoya said, but this time he imagined Tomoyo's father having to hear that from his own daughter.

"Tomoya," Tomoyo turned to look up at him, "Is this our last date? Did you bring me out here to break up with me?"

"Why?" Tomoya was concerned about this turn in the conversation, "Do you want me to break up with you?"

"No." Tomoyo sighed and looked back into the swirls in her coffee. "I don't want to break up with you, but… it feels like I'm losing you anyway."

Tomoya took the platinum blond into his arms and held her tight. There wasn't much he could say that could make this any better. He knew that once he went back to America at the end of the winter break, he probably wouldn't be back in Japan for several years. "I'm sorry Tomoyo. I never thought something like this would happen. If I had, I would have tried harder or chosen a different path. I would have done something… anything… if it meant you didn't have to hurt like this."

"A different path…" Tomoyo asked him, "Tomoya, do you think that there is a place in those parallel worlds that Kotomi talks about… a place where you chose me?"

"According to Kotomi, there are a lot of universes like that." Tomoya told her.

"So, I'm just unlucky in this universe." Tomoyo sighed.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Tomoya said seriously, "When Kotomi was talking about those potentials and probabilities, she made a point of saying that just because a universe might include a particular pairing, it doesn't mean that everyone lived happily ever after."

"Oh?" Tomoyo was never really very interested in hearing about the higher math pane-string-parallel stuff when Kotomi was talking about it, but Tomoya didn't make it sound so boring. "Who was she talking about?"

"Nagisa-chan and me." Tomoya answered.

"You… with Furukawa Nagisa?" Tomoyo blinked, "I can't even imagine that."

"I know." Tomoya chuckled, "I can't imagine Nagisa with anyone other than Ryou-chan either, but Kotomi's theory about that place where I went when Nagisa and I almost froze to death…"

"She called it _the illusionary world_ , didn't she?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Tomoya continued, "Anyway… Ushio, the little girl that was in the shack, identified her parents as Tomoya and Nagisa. But, her mother died in childbirth and her father spent years in isolated depression."

"That's awful!" Tomoyo was aghast that such a future could befall her friends, but given Nagisa's health problems, it wasn't a future that was too unbelievable either.

"Yeah, so who knows what a world where the two of us ended up together might be like?" Tomoya speculated, "Maybe I followed you to wherever you go to college and find a job there, or maybe we can't afford that and you end up casting aside your promising future to stay in this town with me."

"I would… do that for you." Tomoyo admitted.

"That scares me." Tomoya told her, "To think that you would throw away such amazing potential for me… I could never let you do that. Any version of me that would allow such a sacrifice is not a Tomoya I would want to be."

A gloomy awkwardness settled over the two after their brief conversation of things that might have been. They both sipped their drinks in silence and watched the twinkling lights through the window for a few minutes. Tomoyo glanced at her cell phone and noticed the time.

"We should get moving. The train will be arriving soon." Tomoyo said before she finished her drink.

"Train?" Tomoya was confused. From where they were now, they didn't need to take a train to get home.

"Ah, forget I said anything." Tomoyo put her phone away, "It is supposed to be a surprise."

"Oh?" Tomoya thought he already knew who it might be. Sunohara Mei wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow morning along with her parents. But patience was something that girl never seemed to have an abundance of. He wore a knowing smile as he walked hand-in-hand with Tomoyo to the train station.

The train would arrive in eleven minutes. He had that long to remain smug about figuring out the surprise. Then he would find out he was wrong and the smugness would evaporate. But it was a good surprise, so he would still be smiling.


	33. Chapter 33 - Marriage and fortunes

**Note:** This chapter has many Japanese words that may be difficult for some readers. I have included a glossary at the end of the chapter in case you run across something you are unfamiliar with.

 **.**

 **Satur** **day** **evening** **,** **December** **2** **5** **–** **Hikarizaka Train Station**

* * *

So confident was Tomoya in his belief that the surprise arriving on the train would be the short and terribly cute little sister of Youhei, that he didn't notice the tall girl with blue-gray eyes and dark brown hair until she was standing directly in front of him and blocking his view.

"Oh, uh… Yuki-chan?" Tomoya had not seen his cousin since the Autumn of the previous year when he went to his grandmothers birthday party. Now, she was standing in front of him with a suitcase in her hand and looking a little nervous.

"Should I not have come?" Okazaki Yuki asked.

"No… I mean yes!" Tomoya blundered. He stopped, took a breath and started over again, "I'm glad you came. Tomoyo-chan kept this all a surprise so I didn't know who to be looking for. But this is a good surprise too. I appreciated the note you sent me on my anniversary."

"Oh yeah." Yuri blushed when she remembered getting a reply letter from her cousin on such nice stationary after she had sent him only a quick note on folded up notebook paper. "I liked the letter you sent me too."

"So… how are things going with the astronomer?" Tomoya asked as he took the handle of Yuri's rolling suitcase and turned toward the street.

"It worked out well." Yuri's tone was melancholic despite the positive words. "But, he graduated last spring and is studying abroad now." _That seems to be a pattern in my life._

"Long distance relationships can be hard." Tomoyo said sympathetically.

"Not for me." Yuki said resolutely, "We broke up the day after his graduation. We made a promise to each other that if we're both single when we graduate college, we'll date each other again. But…"

"Yeah…" Tomoya said after Yuki had let her sentence trail off. "So… how long will you be staying with us?"

"Okazaki!" Tomoyo gave him a reproving glare.

"What?" Tomoya sounded startled.

"You made it sound as if she's not welcome." Tomoyo admonished her boyfriend. Taking the younger girl's hand, she said, "Yuki, you're welcome to stay as long as you like. Also, Obāsan told me that you'd be bringing some homework or study materials?"

"Thank you, Tomoyo-san!" Yuki blushed at Tomoyo's familiarity of using her first name without any honorifics. The was also thrilled with the older girl's interest in her as she answered, "Yeah… I'll be taking some tests after the break, to try and get into a nice high school near the university. I just need some help with a few subjects. I want to make sure I do well on the tests."

"You're coming to the right place!" Tomoya smirked.

"Huh?" Yuki couldn't tell if Tomoya was teasing or being serious.

"I wasn't a very good student until my third year of high school." Tomoya explained, "That's when I was reunited with Kotomi and she came up with the plan to take me with her to America… but I needed to catch up on all of my courses first."

"Really?" Yuki had heard from her mother, that Tomoya used to be a delinquent, but she hadn't believed her until now. "So, you really did use to be a delinquent?"

"We both were." Tomoyo replied matter-of-factly and asked the younger girl, "Do you believe people should get second chances, Yuki?"

"Yes." Yuki still blushed at Tomoyo's familiar use of her name, but she honestly did hope that people could get second chances. If not, she would never be able to make it into her Aunt's high school… and then would probably not be able to go to college with Tomoyo-san.

"Good. So do I." Tomoyo told her, "I used to get into a lot of fights, but I changed and eventually became the Student Council President. Tomoya was late to school every day, skipped classes, got bad grades, and didn't participate in any clubs. But he turned everything around in his last year and became someone that everyone admired."

Yuki was beginning to see where Tomoyo's confidence was coming from. When she compared herself to Tomoya and Tomoyo, she realized that her own problems weren't nearly as insurmountable as she had believed.

"Kotomi, Kyou, and I worked with Okazaki to help him get his grades up." Tomoyo continued the story, "It took us a few months, but his grades were much better. And, by the time he left, his English was at the conversational level."

"Yeah, that's great…" Yuki could see that Tomoyo was quite proud of Tomoya's achievements, but there was one little problem she thought she should mention, "I don't have several months though."

"True, but you're not starting off from as far behind either." Tomoyo said with cool assurance, "We'll have a look at what you need to cover when we get to the house, but after the talk I had with your grandmother, I don't think this will take too long."

Yuki knew that a lot of her older relatives liked Tomoyo from when she was talking with them about cooking local cuisine. But a lot of those older relatives had been the same ones who said that Naoyuki and his son were both no-good. They had argued that the father and son shouldn't be welcomed back into the family. Even after Naoyuki had been back for a while and was obviously not the reprehensible person that they had suspected, they had again argued that Tomoya and his gang of friends should not be allowed to visit. Few of those relatives had bothered to apologize after the previous year's visit when Tomoya and his friends not only cleared themselves of all suspicions, but had impressed almost everyone. Almost… some of the relatives stubbornly kept their long held grudges. Yuki no longer trusted her elders like she used to, but she did trust her grandmother. Obāsan had been impressed with Tomoyo, and now Yuki knew why.

Confidence.

Yuki had never met another girl that had ever exuded as much confidence as Tomoyo did. Her own doubts seemed to fall away just being near Tomoyo. With only these few words said, since she got off the train, Yuki was now certain that there would be no problem living in the same house with Tomoyo for the next four years. Indeed, she was looking forward to it more than ever.

.

 **S** **un** **day** **mor** **ning** **,** **December** **2** **6** **–** **Inari** **S** **hrine**

* * *

"Youhei, are you ready for this?" Tomoya asked his shorter friend.

"What are you asking?" Youhei retorted, "You don't think I'm in love with Yukine?"

"No, I'm sure you two love each other." Tomoya sighed and said, "It's just that… marriage is a pretty serious thing, you know."

"Ha! You're one to talk. You met a girl in April and married her in August!" Youhei shot back.

"What are you on about?" Tomoya acted innocently, "I knew Kotomi for over ten years before we got married."

"Most of that time doesn't count and you know it. Besides..." Youhei sounded more serious now, "haven't you heard? I'm in the Tokyo Police Academy now. It's not exactly the place for being a delinquent."

"Yeah, I know." Tomoya pulled himself up from the pad where he had been sitting and walked over to stand next to Youhei at the big mirror where they gave their Kimono's one last look before heading out into the ceremony hall.

Tomoya had known Youhei for almost four years now and through that journey they may not have always agreed with each other, but they had always been friends. For most of that time they had their fun _in the moment_ , since their futures always seemed bleak. But that had all changed since their incredible third year when both of them had pulled out of their downward spirals. Tomoya had been worried about his friend for a while, but Youhei had shown more stability and determination than anyone had expected.

Well… anyone except Yukine. Looking back, Tomoya realized that Yukine had been by Sunohara's side since… Kotomi's birthday party in their third year. He couldn't fathom what had caused the kindhearted second year girl to believe in someone like Youhei, but she did – and it looked like she had been right. In that short period of time, Youhei had turned his life around: he graduated with decent grades and a recommendation, got accepted to the Tokyo Police Academy, and was doing well there.

Tomoya was impressed with his friend and proud of all he had accomplished. He desperately wanted to tell him how he felt, but for some reason, it felt weird saying such things to his only close male friend. Still, Youhei had selected Tomoya to be his Best Man, and if there was ever a time to tell him something like this, it would be before Youhei made one of the most important commitments of his life. "Um… listen Youhei…"

"Yeah, I know." Youhei smiled.

"Huh?" Tomoya glanced at his friend but could tell from the knowing smile that Youhei already knew what he was thinking.

"Kotomi-chan relies on you and Kyou because you both have better social skills than her. You two can read the atmosphere and other people far better than she can." Youhei's smile became a look of smug pride, "But neither of you can hold a candle to me! I can tell what you're thinking just from looking at your face."

Tomoya almost dismissed his friend's brash claim but there had been too many times where his insight had been right. In their second year at the high school, he knew of Kyou's fascination with Tomoya almost before she did. In his third year, Student Council President Sakagami recognized his talent and got him on the Disciplinary Committee where his insight was used to great effect.

And, ever since arriving at the shrine that morning, Youhei had been watching the inner turmoil playing on Tomoya's face while trying to get his courage up to express his feelings. Youhei hadn't said anything since it had been interesting to watch his friend struggle between embarrassment and courage. But, Youhei didn't have the kind of sadistic streak that would allow him to enjoy watching his friend suffer needlessly. At least, not for more than an hour or so…

"We've both been through a lot, and look… we both did okay, didn't we?" Youhei suddenly sounded cheerful.

"Um… yeah. Better than expected, I guess." Tomoya felt the relief of not having to say something too embarrassing.

"Hell yeah, better than expected!" Youhei gave Tomoya a friendly punch in the arm, "We both have amazing wives, our futures don't look like crap any more, and some day our kids will be going to the same school."

"Huh? _Our kids_ … that last bit didn't sound like you." Tomoya observed.

"Yeah," Youhei admitted, "I heard Kyou talking to Yukine the other day. You know she has a habit of calling Shuichi and Shuji _her_ kids?"

"Yeah, that's Kotomi's idea." Tomoya explained, "Since both of her parents were taken from her at an early age and she ended up alone, she wants to make sure nothing like that ever happens to her kids."

"So, Kyou-chan is what… a reserve-mom?" Youhei asked skeptically.

"More like a co-mom." Tomoya told him, "If Kotomi has her way, and she probably will, the kids will grow up calling both of them Okāsan."

"Whatever floats her boat. I would think it would be confusing for the kids, but I didn't grow up without any parents. Anyway, she was saying something about becoming a teacher when she gets back from America and teaching everyone's kids at the same school. I just don't know if Yukine and I will…" Youhei let that thought trail off as something else got his attention. Looking at their reflections in the mirror, Youhei noticed something odd. He glanced over at Tomoya's feet to make sure he was wearing his formal Zori and not some elevated Geta, but he was surprised to see that Tomoya hadn't put on any sandals yet. He was still only wearing the Tabi on his feet, and yet his height…

"Um… Tomoya, did you get taller?" Youhei asked.

"Well…" for a moment, Tomoya thought of playing a joke on Youhei and telling him that he was the same height, but Youhei looked like he was shrinking. It would have been an excellent prank, but he just couldn't do that to his best friend on his wedding day. "Yeah, a little bit. Don't worry about it. We need to get out there now. The ceremony is about to start."

"Right!" Youhei took a deep breath and looked up at his long time friend.

Tomoya was a little surprised at the smile on his face and the twinkle in his friend's eyes. He suddenly looked supernatural like an elf or fairy that was about to embark on some exciting mischief. He was thinking about asking if Youhei was okay when his beaming friend laid his hand on the door knob and made his proclamation.

"This begins the next chapter of my life, let's do this!" Youhei threw open the door and walked gallantly out to the waiting audience. Truly, it was an odd assemblage of Yukine's classmates, Youhei's relatives, gang members that were there for Yukine, some police academy peers that were there for Youhei, and mutual friends that were there for both of them. As unusual and disparate as this group was, they were united in wishing only the best for friends on their special day.

.

With Yukine being the last surviving member of her family, there was not much she could contribute to the cost of the wedding. However, many members of the two gangs that had previously been rivals had volunteered time and some materials to make repairs to several of the buildings on the shrine grounds as well as a form of payment on Yukine's behalf. When her fellow students found out that a group of volunteers was working to fix up the shrine's facilities, the high school's Cultural Society club raised funds to buy vermilion paint for the shrine's several Torii gateways. The entrance, the buildings, and the grounds now looked better than they had in years. So, it would be in this recently renovated place that Yukine and Youhei would be wed.

Youhei's family was not wealthy enough to provide formal Kimono's for everyone, but that turned out not to be an issue. Kotomi, Tomoyo, and Kyou already had similarly themed Homongi in gold and dark maroon that matched the dark blue and maroon Kimono that Tomoya and Koumura were wearing. Youhei's mother wore a traditional black Kurotomesode that the mother of the bride or groom would wear. It was elegantly decorated with bright patterns of branches and peach blossoms below the waist. The same pattern was on the lower half of Mei's bright yellow Irotomesode. A single background color other than black with a pattern only below the waist signified a close relative of the couple to be wed. And there wouldn't be many relatives as close as Mei was to the brother she was so proud of on this chilly, but pretty December morning.

There was not a cloud in the sky and the air was cool and crisp without being too cold. The heat from the sun could be felt, but only barely. The weather forecast said that it would remain clear throughout the day, but it would steadily be getting colder as a winter storm was moving in. But that would be another day. On this wonderful morning, when two friends and lovers became husband and wife – the sky, like their hopes, were unblemished.

All eyes turned to the big doors at the back of the great hall as the brides party made their entrance. Like so many other people in the room, Youhei and Tomoya were stunned when they saw Yukine for the first time in her Shirokakeshita. The brilliant white Kimono gleamed from the rays of the rising sun behind her.

With Yukine holding onto his arm, Koumura proudly walked up the isle in his role as the father-of-the-bride. Indeed, he was very proud of her. Even if he had retired the year before she would graduate, she had been an important and transformative friend to the students that he had taken an interest in. She had grown in many ways herself, too. No longer the helpful but retreating figure she had been, Yukine was actively working with the man she loved to find a happy future for the both of them. For too long, she had worked diligently to support other people, but never asked for anything of her own. Koumura was glad to see that she was finally embracing some happiness for herself.

Behind Koumura and Yukine, Fuko had received a special accommodation. Like Mei, she was wearing an Irotomesode. Although she was not actually related to Yukine, today Fuko would play the role of the sister of the bride. Her Kimono was a solid bright green with images of puffy clouds and cranes in flight. The special position of _honorary sister_ had come from Yukine and Youhei. The Irotomesode was a gift from her sister and brother-in-law. At first, they had toyed with the idea of shooting stars as the pattern on the Kimono, but they remembered a comment from Tomoya and worried that Fuko might end up in a daydream state partway through the ceremony.

From his position at the front of the room, Tomoya could see all the guests watching the ceremony. Although some seemed bored, most of the guys in the room looked interested with the few emotional ones being from the group of gang members. But it was the reactions of the girls that got his attention. He had heard once that all girls will either be happy or cry at weddings and it looked like that was true. Tomoya could see the happiness on Kotomi's face as the ceremony proceeded. She seemed to take particular interest in the special Kimono's used in the ceremony. _That's right. As much as she is interested in science, Kotomi has always been interested in traditional Kimono's. We were married in Yukata's since it was summer time…_ Tomoya wondered for a moment if Kotomi wished they had been married in the winter or spring so she too could have had all these special Kimono's around her. _No. That wouldn't have worked out_ _after all_ _. Since both of our mothers_ _are gone and neither of us have any sisters, there would have been no-one to wear the Kurotomesode or the Irotomesode. That… would have reminded her of her loss and might have actually saddened her on her wedding day. I guess for_ _the two of_ _us, a summer wedding_ _in Yukata's_ _was best._

Still looking at Kotomi, another thought occurred to him. _I wonder how many of me are doing this same thing in those alternate universes._ Remembering Ushio from that strange place, his eyes moved over to Nagisa in her bright red Homongi with patterns of flowers and butterflies. _Then again, I wonder if Nagisa and I are the ones getting married in some of those universes._ _Or maybe Kyou or… that's right – with an infinite number of parallel universes, every combination is possible. Some are simply more probable than others._ He remembered the conversation with Winter Tomoya more clearly now than he had in a long while and continued to wonder about probabilities and different worlds. _Why… why were there so few Tomoya's that had chosen Kotomi?_ _Am I doing the right thing by…_

Tomoya was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed the part where he was supposed to hand Youhei the ring. A few people in the audience giggled as he remembered what he was supposed to do, stumbled through his movement and almost dropped the ring. There were some giggles, but the embarrassment didn't last very long. The ceremony continued and was soon over, but he wasn't finally brought back to the present until he heard everyone shout "Kampai!"

.

"Kampai!" everyone shouted again at the reception. Yoshino Yusuke had just delivered a toast themed on the importance of realizing the meaning we have in the connections to the people we hold dear to us, but Tomoya had barely heard any of it. His mind was still daydreaming about the what-if possibilities of other choices and the fates that those choices led to. Tomoya's musing were interrupted again. This time it was by somebody making a choking and spluttering sound.

"THIS!" Nagisa gasped, "This is real sake!"

"Yeah Nagisa, you're twenty years old now. You're old enough to drink real sake." Akio said sagely.

"That's fine Dad, but you didn't tell me… I need to prepare myself for it." Nagisa blushed when she noticed that everyone was looking at her.

"What's the problem?" Yuki whispered to Tomoya, "Sake's not that big a deal, is it?"

"You're not in Hokkaido any more." Tomoya whispered back, "The drinking age is taken pretty seriously around here so it's become a kind of 'rite of passage' towards becoming an adult."

"Oh." Yuki watched as Nagisa's cup was refilled for her to earnestly try and have a drink with her parents. The seriousness of it all made her start giggling.

"What's so funny?" Tomoya quietly asked.

"It's just… if that's the rite of passage for being a grown-up, I became an adult before I was a teenager." Yuki smirked.

"Huh?" Tomoya was a little surprised. As much of a delinquent as he had been in high school, he still hadn't gotten involved in drinking alcohol. And yet his cousin, who was supposed to be a 'good girl' had been drinking since she was a preteen? He understood that there were cultural differences across Japan, but it was still odd to find out something like that.

"Whoa…" Yuki looked concerned when she saw how pink Nagisa's face had become, "somebody better show her how to do it right or she's gonna get drunk and make a fool out of herself."

Tomoya was about to make a move when he saw Ryou step in.

"That's enough, Nagisa." Ryou stopped her girlfriend from holding the cup out for another refill.

"Wha? Why Ryou?" Nagisa slurred her speech, "I jus wanna drink wif my Dad. Thersh no harm in that, right?"

"You've had a drink with your dad. You need to stop now." Ryou circled her arm around her girlfriend's waist since Nagisa was starting to look unstable on her feet.

"But heesh shtill drinking, so why can't I?" Nagisa pouted.

"Nagisa," Tomoyo's strong voice called out from close behind the tipsy girl, "look carefully into Ryou's eyes. Tell me what you see."

"Huh?" Nagisa had initially been startled by Tomoyo's voice, but now she was concentrating on Ryou's blue eyes as much as she could. Blue eyes that looked… wet. With growing concern, she said, "She… she hash tearsh. She looksh like sheesh going to cry. Tomoyo-chan, why ish Ryou going to cry?"

"She's worried about you Nagisa. She doesn't like what the alcohol is doing to you. If you keep drinking it, you are going to make her cry." Tomoyo let that sink in for a moment before she asked, "Do you want to make Ryou cry?"

"No!" Nagisa said with alarm. Her lethargy and slurred speech seemed to fall away when her arms suddenly wrapped around the lavender haired girl that was holding her up, "I love Ryou! I love her more than anything else in the world. I don't want to make you cry, Ryou! I don't ever want to make you cry!"

"Mmmmmmfffff!" Ryou cried out, but the alcohol had torn down all of her girlfriend's social barriers and an unrestrained Nagisa was kissing Ryou with a level of passion rarely seen in public… in Japan anyway. Ryou was terribly embarrassed by the kiss at first, but she could feel herself melting into Nagisa from the heat of the embrace and soon, she was kissing back regardless of who, or how many people were watching.

"Wow!" Sanae said as she watched the passionate embrace. Her own cheeks were now quite pink from the sake she had been drinking with her husband and daughter. Then she teased her husband by telling him, "Ryou-chan kisses better than you do."

"What?" Akio sputtered, "You're saying you'd rather kiss Ryou-chan than me?"

"No, Okāsan!" Nagisa broke off her kiss to rebuke her mother. Holding her girlfriend close she made her claim to her mother and everyone else in the room, "Ryou-chan is mine."

Ryou wanted to say something but she suddenly felt herself crushed into Nagisa's chest by the grip of her girlfriend's encircling arms.

"Aww," Sanae sounded disappointed for a moment but rebounded, "Hmmm? What about Tomoya-kun? I'll bet he's a good kisser."

Kyou was about to make a hot retort to the teasing older woman but was stunned by Kotomi's unexpected, sort of scientific, and somewhat erotic response.

"He is amazing." Kotomi smiled dreamily, "Just thinking about kissing him makes me short of breath, my pulse rate goes up, and my skin feels electric. When he kisses me, I sense explosions of light and sound, my skin becomes sensitive, a heat seems to spread to every part of me, and my body feels light as a feather. I can only think about kissing him forever, since all other thoughts in my mind simply fade away."

"Kotomi-chan!" Tomoya gaped. He was of course embarrassed that she would say this in front of all their friends. But he was also stunned because he had never heard her say anything like that before.

"Oh… wow!" Sanae had only intended a little light hearted teasing, but Kotomi's sensual description left everyone agape and blushing a little. "He's really that good?"

Youhei noticed that both Tomoyo and Kyou silently nodded in agreement with Kotomi.

"Yes." Kotomi took Tomoya's arm and leaned into him. "I can feel a powerful urge within me, and I find that I am struggling to keep myself from becoming intimate with Tomoya-kun even now."

"Kotomi-chan!" Tomoya's blush was starting to look unhealthy. He almost blurted out, _But Kotomi-chan, you're the one that taught me how to kiss!_ _I never kissed anyone before I kissed you._ However, unlike his wife, Tomoya had working social skills that prevented him from saying embarrassing private things in public places. He could only stare at her and hope that she would stop on her own.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi innocently looked up at her husband.

"I… You…" Tomoya's state of embarrassment and frustration was too much for him to put together any rational sentences.

"I believe Tomoya would like you to refrain from any further discussion of his sexual prowess in public." Tomoyo offered.

"Yes… that!" Tomoya pointed at Tomoyo to further indicate that she had phrased his thoughts perfectly.

"Oh!" Kotomi suddenly paled and looked sad, "Did I make another faux pas?"

Tomoya hugged his humorously charming wife close and was about to make a response when the photographer called out to everyone.

Could I get everyone together? Are you ready to do the group picture?"

It was a picture many of them would treasure for years to come. Everyone was in festive Kimono's and looked their best. Tomoya was surrounded by Kotomi, Tomoyo, Kyou, and his cousin Yuki. Youhei seemed to be at the center of a crowd too with Yukine, Fuko, Mei, his parents, and the Yoshino's around him. Between the two of them, Koumura, the Furukawa's, Nagisa, and Ryou made happy poses. If it hadn't been for the brilliant white Shirokakeshita that Yukine was wearing, and the black Kurotomesode that Youhei's mother wore, it would have looked like a picture that captured the gathering of the Okazaki, Furukawa, and Sunohara clans, rather than a wedding photo.

.

 **Fri** **day** **night** **,** **December** **31** **–** **Inari** **S** **hrine**

* * *

A week later and a few sporadic snowfalls made the hike up the steps to the shrine a bit difficult. The stone carved steps were not very wide, so everyone broke up into pairs to climb up to the place where they would bring in the new year. Some were appreciating the late night outing more than others.

"Weren't we just here?" Youhei asked Tomoya as they walked up the steps to the shrine grounds.

"Hah! How is married life?" Tomoya asked, then hastily added, "And don't say it's the same, but with a toilet seat cover!"

"Heh… but it's not the same." Youhei smiled. "Every time I think about being married to Yukine, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. Sometimes it seems too good to be true and I'm afraid I might wake up from this dream."

"Stop trying to sound philosophical, you're throwing me off." Tomoya smirked.

"Hey, I'm studying to be a police officer." Youhei reminded his friend, "Cops are very philosophical."

"Huh? What's so philosophical about being a cop?" Tomoya wasn't picking on his friend now. He had never heard this position and was genuinely curious.

"Well, there's good and evil, right and wrong, legal and illegal – right?" Youhei began his discourse as he walked next to Tomoya, "Is the right thing always good and legal? Can something illegal be a good thing… or a right thing?"

"For instance…" Tomoya prodded.

"Would you violate a no-trespassing sign to save a child or an animal? Youhei asked.

"I see." Tomoya could easily imagine several conundrums and asked, "But police aren't supposed to be judges or juries, so what do you do?"

"The easy answer is that the Police are there to enforce the law. We don't have to figure out right and wrong or good and evil. That's what courts and religions are for." Youhei said.

"Hmm… that sounds a little harsh." Tomoya observed.

"It is. That's why it's very important for a police officer to be aware of all the laws. There are old ones and new ones. There are even laws that contradict other laws." Youhei had a twinkle in his eye as he continued, "So a good cop always needs to know which laws need to be enforced in any situation.

"Ah ha." Tomoya chuckled. He had to wonder if this was something they were actually teaching at the Tokyo Police Academy, or was this just another example of Youhei finding a loophole in the system. Something landed on Tomoya's arm that made him look up.

"Hey, it's snowing!" Ryou had also noticed and was looking up at the swirls of falling snow as they slowly fell from the sky.

"Aww… now I have to change what I'll be praying for." Mei pouted.

"You were going to pray for snow?" Yuki was aghast. Being from the northern island of Hokkaido, she had seen plenty of snow in her life.

"Wait!" Youhei sounded shocked, "You weren't going to pray for your brother to have a happy marriage?"

"You've only been married for a week! What has my onii-chan done that requires prayers to save his marriage?" Mei asked in a suspicious voice with her mitten covered fists on her hips.

"Oh it's nothing like that," Yukine said as she took Mei by the arm and explained to her, "Youhei gets very jealous if his imouto isn't thinking of him first. Your onii-chan is very selfish that way."

"Hee hee hee!" Mei sounded positively thrilled at that explanation. Having reached the shrine grounds at the long path of stairs that led up the hill, Mei and Yukine let go of each other so they could each take one of Youhei's arms.

Suspecting that someone would be taking their cue from the younger girls, Tomoya was surprised when only Kotomi was there to take his right arm. Looking around, he saw that Kyou was with her sister, and Tomoyo was having a conversation with his cousin Yuki.

"Everyone is so lively. I wish I had friends like this." Yuki said aloud.

"Were you a loner at your school?" Tomoyo asked the taller girl.

"No, senpai." Yuki explained, "I'm from a pretty rural area, so there aren't many kids in the school I'm going to now. All three high school grades are in the same classroom. Obāsan says that the new school in Sapporo will have lots of kids in it. She said there will be so many that there will be several classrooms just for the third years."

"Our school is like that." Tomoyo surprised the younger girl. Then she realized that Yuki hadn't seen her high school on this trip so she wouldn't know how big it was. "But, even if you were in a single classroom with three grades, surely you made some friends there?"

"Sort of… I guess." Yuki sounded almost apologetic, "The part of Hokkaido where we are from is mostly devoted to agriculture so most of the kids my age are already working on their family farms or have jobs related to farming. There is no time for joining clubs or putting on festivals at the school. Since my boyfriend graduated last spring, I am the only one in our whole high school class that has any plans to go to college. So, that makes me…"

"Different." Tomoyo finished her younger friend's sentence. "I used to feel different from everyone else around me too. I used to be quite the loner. I didn't need anyone else and I didn't trust anyone either. And… it's hard for someone to become a friend when you can't trust them. Now, I have become comfortable with having friendships. It was your cousin and his friends that helped me, you know."

"Yes, senpai." Yuki liked hearing how cool her cousin was, but all this talk about being able to have lots of friends saddened her. _Stuck out in the sticks, my own high school li_ _f_ _e_ _is_ _pretty drab by comparison. And… I don't have a collection of wonderful friends to show for it either._

"I'm glad you're trying so hard to get into that high school in Sapporo." Tomoyo told Yuki, "I'm used to having friends now and I had been dreading going so far away to a place where I didn't know anyone. Now, I know I'll have at least one friend."

"Senpai!" Yuki squeaked.

"By the way, do you know how to play volleyball?" Tomoyo asked, "I have an affinity for sports but I don't like playing on big teams. I had been thinking about trying beach volleyball…"

"They seem to be hitting it off." Ryou commented to her sister as they walked behind the platinum blond Tomoyo and the taller Yuki.

"That's a good thing." Kyou observed, "It sounds like they'll be together for the next four years at least."

"Yeah." Ryou sighed. _I wish there was a way for us to be together too, onee-san._

"It really makes me feel better knowing that you'll have Nagisa-chan with you while you're off at school." Kyou took her sister's hand and squeezed it, I don't know if I could go back to America if I thought you would be all alone. I just couldn't bear it."

"Onee-chan!" Ryou squeezed her sister's hand back and felt a sudden warmth all over. Wanting to spend as much time around her sister as she could, she asked Kyou, "Nagisa and I are going to get fortunes after the prayer. Do you want to come with us?"

"I…" Kyou suddenly remembered the fortune from the previous year as if she had just read it.  
 _*** Greatest Curse  
*** Romance  
_ _*** A_ _good_ _friend's tragedy will requite your greatest desire._

"Maybe not this year." Kyou tried not to sound too dire, but she could tell that Ryou was disappointed that they wouldn't be getting fortunes together like they had so many times before. _What am I worried about… the odds of me getting the same fortune again are astronomical. Besides, they're just little pieces of paper._ Steeling herself against the unreasonable fear, Kyou forced herself to laugh and told her sister, "I'm just kidding! Of course we'll get our fortunes together, Ryou."

.

Kyou stood staring at the paper in her hand. It was not the same one she had seen last year, but Kyou found it disturbing nonetheless. Considering how it followed last year's fortune, it was also somehow… terrifying.  
 _*** Future Good Fortune  
*** Hopes and Dreams  
*** A hardship is postponed, but it's day of reckoning will come. Stand firm and strong __through the_ _hardship_ _and the treasures you seek will finally be yours._

 _Why… why can't I just get something simple?_ _'_ _You'll get good grades_ _'_ _, or_ _'_ _you'll find something you're looking for'…_ _It doesn't even have to be a Great Fortune. Even something average would be fine._ _Why do I have to get these… things. What does this mean? I don't want my greatest desires or treasures if it means a good friend has to have a tragedy. Whether that tragedy is now or in the future, I don't want it!_ While everyone else was laughing or talking about their silly fortunes, Kyou quietly walked over to the tree that would hopefully absorb this fortune away from her and let her have a peaceful life. Kyou held the fortune in her hands and closed her eyes. Instantly, she saw Tomoya's face smiling at her. Tomoya… a _re you my greatest desire?_ She thought about Ryou insisting that the baby boys were Kotomi's and not hers. _Do I want some of my own? Are those the treasures that I seek? If I tie this fortune to this tree, what will I be throwing away?_ _NO! I am being ridiculous. I am Fujibayashi Kyou and I do not believe in such superstitious things. Ryou is the one that plays with cards and dabbles in fortune telling, not me!_ _I'm too practical for this kind of…_

Trembling fingers folded the fortune as tears slid down a cold cheek.

 _This means nothing to me. I am not a superstitious person! I'm not!_

Unsteady hands reached out to the tree and pressed the folded paper against a spot of bare branch.

 _I don't need to requite my greatest desire! I don't need such treasures! I am happy right now. I'm happy with the way things are… now. I don't want anything to change._

When her fingers closed around the folded fortune to press the knot in the paper to seal it against the bark of the tree, her eyes closed tight and squeezed out the gathered tears. In her mind's eye, she saw herself holding a baby with Tomoya's arms around her in a loving embrace. A sob wracked through her body and the warm tears flowed freely down her cold cheeks at the dream that could never be.

"No!" Kyou turned away from the tree and immediately ran into a comforting softness and a whirlwind of purple hair.

"Kyou-chan." Kotomi wrapped her arms around her unsteady friend and held her close. Even with her poor social skills, she could tell that the trembling she felt through the winter clothes were not from the cold. Her Kyou was upset and hurting. _I must try to do something. Even if I am not very good at it, I must try… for Kyou._

"Kotomi-chan." Kyou responded automatically in a sobbing voice. Her own arms wrapped around her friend.

"Kyou-chan makes many faces. I have been fortunate enough to see so many of them." Kotomi said quietly, "When Kyou-chan smiles, it makes me think of playing kittens, bright colored balloons, and the laughter of children. Kyou-chan is so pretty… even the faces that Kyou-chan makes when she is distraught are beautiful to behold. But it hurts me to see you like this. It hurts in my heart because I only want for you to be happy. What can I do, Kyou-chan? What can I do to make you happy again?"

 _Give Tomoya to me!_ Kyou wanted to shout. _But no… that wouldn't make me happy either. It would crush Tomoya and it would tear Kotomi apart… and I could never live with that either._ Kyou started to say something but the words wouldn't come.

"Do you still love Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi asked as if she were a close friend and not the person-in-question's wife.

"Yes." Kyou admitted. She was only a little shocked at that kind of question from Kotomi by now.

"I know that he still loves you too." Kotomi said as she stroked her hand through Kyou's lavender hair.

"You think so?" Kyou was unsure. Even having been in this strange relationship for over a year, those kinds of doubts could always find her.

"I am certain, but if you would like me to verify…" Kyou was turning to shout out to Tomoya who was a few dozen meters away.

"No!" Kyou pulled Kotomi back to her and stopped the purple haired genius from yelling out a question like that in front of all the people visiting the shrine. "I know he still loves me. I was just being stupid."

"Stupid?" Kotomi's eyebrow arched as she considered it, "No, you are not stupid, Kyou-chan. But these fortunes… They are far too random. If you would like, I will render you a fortune based on rational thought and observation."

"Huh?" Kyou was surprised, "You do fortune telling like my sister?"

"No." Kotomi smiled, "there may be probability, but there is no reliance on chance the way I do it."

"Oh?" Kyou was getting interested now. She had never known this side of Kotomi before, "Have your predictions ever been right?"

"I have never done this before, and I do not plan to do it again. This is just for Kyou-chan." Kotomi said earnestly.

"Ah… okay, let's hear what my future holds… according to rational thought and observation." Kyou thought that Kotomi would release her, so she could do some kind of theatrical move to begin her little show. But Kotomi continued to hold her and simply started talking.

"In the next five years, your fears and doubts are going to fall away and you are going to accept your position in the family. Your bonds to the boys are already strong and they will only get stronger as you embrace the roll of their mother and they love you with all their hearts." There was nothing bizarre or supernatural about what Kotomi was saying, and yet the words seemed to conjure images in Kyou's mind.

Kyou could see herself hugging preteen boys and sending them off to school, cheering them at sports day and comforting them when they had a moment of sadness. Kyou could only gasp at the realism of the images in her mind as she saw herself being the perfect mother.

"This is a very good thing since I will probably have another child or two before we permanently move back to Japan. Those future children will need Okāsan Kyou every bit as much as the boys." Kotomi could feel Kyou tense up when she mentioned the future children.

"Ah!" Kyou gasped. She could see that kind of future happening just as Kotomi described it. Far from any anxiety about Kotomi having another child with Tomoya, it was another unbelievably clear image that had sprung from her mind. A daughter! Kyou was holding the little girl in her lap while she giggled. Then there was a room with clothes scattered all over the place and Kyou was dressing up the doll of a girl in one outfit after another while both of them laughed and cheered at their mutual fun. It was a wonderful future to think about, even if it meant that she would forsake any 'little treasures' of her own.

"After we move back to Japan, you will become a school teacher. Or – and this is more likely considering the education and the experiences you will be able to bring with you… I can see you starting up your own private school for elementary and middle school students. It will be a wonderful place that will prepare the children to go to the best high schools." Kotomi closed her eyes to focus on what she knew of Kyou, her dreams, and what could conceivably be accomplished.

"Ah!" Kyou had never thought of that. She had only wanted to be a kindergarten teacher so she could prove to herself and to everyone else that she could be a nurturing influence to children. But to run her own school… Her boys and this future girl were wearing wonderful uniforms and proudly walking up to the gates of her school. _My school!_

"The children you raise will be smart, healthy, and strong. They will fear you as the Okāsan that always knows what they are up to. They will love you as the Okāsan that is always there for them when they are in need. When they get married, you will wear the black Kurotomesode and proudly stand beside Tomoya as their beloved Okāsan. Later, they will come home with their own children who will know you as their Obāsan. You will be an Obāsan that all the grandchildren will love and adore their entire lives."

An older Kyou greeting small children gleefully calling out to her. Sitting around a big table with children, in-laws, grandchildren… Showing them how to ride bicycles, going to school plays, reading stories while they go to sleep.

"Oh Kotomi-chan, that… that is so beautiful!" Kyou realized that this was exactly the kind of fortune she would like to come true for her. But, something seemed missing. Realizing what it was, she asked, "Kotomi-chan, what about you?"

"What do you mean?" Kotomi blinked.

"In all your predictions, I am beside Tomoya-kun, I am the Okāsan and the Obāsan." Kyou asked, "What about you?"

"Kyou-chan, Tomoya has more than one side." Kotomi reminded her lavender haired friend of something that she thought was intuitively obvious, "When we sleep, do you not sleep on one side of him and I on the other?"

"Um… yes." Kyou realized her error, but she let Kotomi finish her thoughts.

"I intend to stand by Tomoya-kun's side, but I can only stand by one side at a time. It has always been my hope that you would have his other side. I am not so selfish a person that I would deny you that, when the two of you clearly love each other."

"Ah!" Kyou was about to deny that their love was the same as his love for Kotomi's.

"I believe Tomoya-kun loves you just as much as he loves me." Kotomi stunned her friend by telling her, "I don't think he is capable of loving one of us more than the other. But, I fear that it won't be the same with the children."

"Huh?" Kyou felt Kotomi stiffen this time. It was as if Kotomi were being forced to admit a difficult thing.

"They will love you more than me. I'm afraid it is inevitable. It is easy to see that probability if you review the facts." Kotomi sounded a little sad as she admitted her predetermined defeat.

"Facts? What do you mean?" Kyou was getting ready to argue such nonsense out of Kotomi's head.

"I am cold, dispassionate, and aloof." Kotomi made a wan smile as she gave her evidence, "Young and growing children will have a difficult time relating to me. Your warmth and kindness will fill the void that would be difficult or even impossible for me. You will be the Okāsan that they will run to first."

"Kotomi-chan…" Kyou didn't know where to begin. She felt herself becoming furious with Kotomi but she knew that she had to find another way to deal with the genius girl that didn't involve fury and violence. No, Kotomi doesn't respond well to anger or rage.

"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi could feel the change in her friend. She was glad that Kyou didn't seem so sad any more but something felt wrong. The happiness that she had expected wasn't there as expected.

"Do you think I have changed at all, since you met me?" Kyou asked in as controlled a voice as she could manage.

"Yes, Kyou-chan! You have become an even more amazing person." Kotomi said with painful honesty.

"You have changed as well, Kotomi-chan." Kyou said.

"Maybe a little…" Kotomi had been trying to change but didn't think she had managed anything nearly as incredible as the great strides Kyou had made, or the complete turnabouts that Tomoya and Youhei had accomplished.

"No, Kotomi-chan! You have come a long way from the isolated hermit that Tomoya had found in the library." Kyou continued to hold onto Kotomi tight so they couldn't see each other's faces. If Kotomi could see the anger that Kyou was sure was on her face now… it just might give her nightmares. "You can talk to people you don't know. You were even able to enjoy going to an amusement park. And I can tell that when you are… feeding your boys. The connection is there Kotomi."

"But you make that connection as well and you are better at it than I am…" Kotomi was quietly giving her honest opinion and completely unprepared for the ferocity of the response she triggered.

"NO KOTOMI!" Kyou shouted. She didn't care if several people were now looking. She could not let this pass. Clinging to the now frightened friend, she continued in a quiet voice, "I can see the love you have for those boys. It's as clear as day. That feeling you have when you hold them to your chest… that's what love is. There's no magic to it. You are not doing it wrong or inadequately. Nobody is doing it better than you… not even me." Kyou held Kotomi's kimono tightly in her fists and closed her eyes as the tears ran.

"Kyou-chan, I… I…" Kotomi was unsure of what to say. She could tell that Kyou was mad, but she had no idea why she should be upset now. A brief thought worried Kotomi, _What if Kyou does not actually love the children but is only taking care of them out of a sense of obligation? Has my prediction then offended her?_ Kotomi dismissed the notion after reviewing all the observations she had made since the boys were born. _No, I am certain that Kyou-chan loves Shuichi and Shuji. Then, what have I done to offend her so?_

"Cold, distant, and aloof may have been a description of you from back when Tomoya found you in the library, but it's not true any more." Kyou finally allowed Kotomi to pull back far enough to see her face. "But anyone that has ever seen you with your babies would never dare describe you that way, and do you know why?"

"Eep!" Kotomi squeaked after seeing Kyou's face that still radiated some anger, "Um… no… why is that, Kyou-chan?"

"Because if they did… I would break them." Kyou'd dark aura seemed to intensify, for a moment as she said, "I would break them into little pieces."

.

"So, has Kyou been skipping her anger management classes?" Youhei asked Tomoya. "Oof!" he grunted as he was hit in the ribs on each side by both Yukine and Mei.

"Give her a break." Tomoya chuckled at Youhei's pain, "We've been here for three weeks. It's been a while since she went for a nice long ride on her bike. I swear that think is like magical stress relief for her."

"Oh?" Mei asked, "Is Kyou-san into cycling?"

"Not quite," Tomoya brought up the picture of Kyou on her metallic purple Low Rider and showed it to Youhei and the girls.

"Wow!" Mei was impressed.

"That's not a _bike_ ," Youhei gaped, "that's a monster! It's bigger than she is!"

"Actually, it's smaller than the one she was riding when I got there." Tomoya told a stunned Youhei as he pulled up the picture of himself on the Road King. "I took her old bike so she got a smaller purple one."

"Great!" Youhei chided his friend, "That's what you're going to be doing for the next five years, huh? College classes, riding motorcycles, and having a great time while I'm in a Police Academy… A POLICE ACADEMY!"

"I'll also be raising two kids…" Tomoya was trying to make it not sound like a constant party.

"Three." Mei chimed in.

"Three what?" Tomoya asked.

"Three kids." Mei smiled sweetly at him while she explained, "Kotomi-chan says she wants to have another before she finishes college."

"Ulp!" Tomoya began to wonder if Kotomi was even wired to talk about that kind of thing with him at all.

"She might want two more… but I could be wrong." Yukine smiled.

.

 **M** **id February and Late April of 2005**

* * *

Six weeks later, Tomoya would find the fortune he had acquired that night at the shrine, in one of the pockets of his suitcase. He had kept it since it was a good fortune. It told him that his blessings would soon multiply.

A few months later, he would be sitting at the breakfast table with Kotomi, Kyou, and Koumura when he would find out that his blessings were multiplying… again.

.

 **The Kotomi Continuum 2**

* * *

The story continues in the next book. _The Kotomi Continuum 2_ is set five years after the events in this book. Tomoya, Kotomi, Kyou, Koumura, and the kids have returned to Japan and Kotomi's research into parallel universes is reaching the practical experimentation stage. Please enjoy discovering how the Clannad characters fare as Kotomi's interests raise the SciFi and Adventure flags.

.

 **Glossary**

* * *

 **Geta** **:** Less formal footwear worn with Yukata's.

 **Homongi** : also called the visiting wear kimomo. It is less colorful than a Furisode and is appropriate for friends of the bride and groom to wear to the wedding and reception.

 **Imouto** **:** little sister

 **Irotomesode** : A Kimono for female relatives (not mothers) of the bride and groom. It is typically a single color (not black) with imagery only below the waist.

 **Kurotomesode** : Kimono worn only by the mothers of the bride and groom. Black with patterns below the waist.

 **Obāsan:** Grandmother

 **Okāsan:** Mother

 **Onee-chan:** big sister

 **Onii-chan:** big brother

 **Shirokakeshita** : Kimono worn by the bride, usually white with long sleeves.

 **Tabi:** split toed socks worn with Zori.

 **Zori:** more formal footwear worn with Kimono's.


End file.
